Unhappy with govt assurance without action, wrestlers vow to intensify protest

The countrys top wrestlers on Thursday vowed to intensify their protest saying the government has given them an assurance but no satisfactory response and they will lodge multiple FIRs against WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh if the Wrestling Federation of India is not disbanded immediatelyThe wrestlers who have accused the WFI President of sexual exploitation and intimidation continued their dharna for the second day as more grapplers joined them in what they called was a fight to give a new life to Indian wrestlingThreetime CWG medallist and BJP leader Babita Phogat came to the protest site with a message from the government and assured the grapplers that their demands will be met as the athletes took turn to share their bad experiencesTokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya pleaded for more support while young Anshu Malik narrated how WFI Presidents presence in the players hotel in Bulgaria during the world junior championship last year made the women wrestlers uncomfortableIt may be noted that 21yearold Anshu had not competed in that championship as she was injuredA team of wrestlers including Bajrang Punia Vinesh Phogat Anshu Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyawrat Kadiyan was then called for a meeting with the government as they discussed their issues with Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi Director General SAI Sandip Pradhan and Joint Secretary Sports KunalDuring the onehour meeting the wrestlers were asked to end their protest and assured that their grievances will be addressedHowever the wresters wanted a concrete and immediate action and decided to continue their protest unless WFI President is removed and the national federation is disbanded along with all the state wrestling associations in the countryAlso Read Priyanka Gandhi calls players nations pride demands action against WFILater addressing the media Vinesh did not disclose what transpired at the meeting but said Unfortunately we did not get a satisfactory responseYesterday we had 12 victims amongst us but now we have 56 wrestlers whowere harassed sexually We cant name them now after all they are daughters and sisters of somebody But if we are forced to disclose their identity it will be a black day said Vinesh the twotime World Championship medallistIts not just about his Brij Bhushan resignation We will send him to jail We did not want to take the legal route because we had hoped for resolution but if a proper solution is not provided we will lodge FIRs against the PresidentWe are World Championship and Olympic medallists dont suspect us we are telling the truth believe usWFI Emergency General Council in AyodhyaIt has been learnt that the Wrestling Federation of India WFI has called for an Emergency General Council in Ayodhya on Sunday to discuss the issueYes a meeting has been called and future course of action will be discussed I cant say if WFI President will resign or not It needs to be discussed said a WFI officialIt may be noted that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singhs third term as WFI President is ending soon and he is ineligible to contest again He was elected WFI President for the third time in February 2019According to the National Sports Code a person may serve as President and thereby on the Board of the NOCNSF for up to three terms or 12 years with or without break after the completion of which tenure as President the person shall not be entitled to return as an office bearer or Board member of the NSFTrust us we are not lyingBajrang saidThe entire wrestling hub fraternity is here We have proofs we are not lying We want wrestling to live start a new lifeThe 28yearold Vinesh claimed that she has got calls of appreciation from Kerala and Maharashtra woman wrestlers for taking up the causeAt least 56 girls will lodge FIRs tomorrow and it will be a black day if it happens in a country like India where Durga and Lakshmi are worshipped Then I would say that no woman is safe in this country and no daughter should be born to anyoneAsked to give details of the meeting they had with the government representative Vinesh saidThey did not give any timeframe just gave assurancesEverything is at stake now We have not even taken police protection and are sitting here But where is the WFI President his office is locked Where are those eyes that used to scare usWhen reminded that London Olympics medallist Yogeshwar Dutt has backed WFI President along with Asian Championship medallist Divya Karan Vinesh said Yogeshwar is definitely sitting in the lap of the WFI and that Kakran herself spoke against the President in the past We have proofsAll the videos in support of WFI President are being made where he has that aatank ka adda hub of terror people should come and make videos here at Jantar Mantar while sitting in front of the publicWe want the government to take control of WFI and we will not compete in any competition under the current PresidentSakshi Malik said all state wrestling associations should be disbanded in the country because the WFI President has all his men in these sports bodiesBrinda Karat asked to leave protestEarlier in the day CPIM leader Brinda Karat who arrived at the protest site in support of the wrestlers and wanted to speak was asked to leave by the grapplers saying they dont want anyone to give their campaign a political colourWe request you madam please dont make this political Bajrang saidMeanwhile the National Commission for Women NCW said that the wrestlers can approach it with their complaintsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever