A day after wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress party, former Wrestling Federation of India president and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh claimed that the entire wrestlers’ movement was a “conspiracy” orchestrated by Congress. Speaking on Saturday, Singh alleged that the protests, which began at Jantar Mantar in January last year, were not a genuine athlete-led movement but rather a political plot led by Congress figures such as Bhupinder Hooda.
“On January 18, 2023, when the protest began, I stated that it was not an athlete’s movement but was being orchestrated by Congress, particularly by Bhupinder Hooda, Deepender Hooda, Priyanka Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi. Today’s developments confirm that Congress was indeed involved in this conspiracy against us,” Singh said.
Singh further asserted that the protests were not about women’s dignity but were politically motivated, suggesting that the real harm was done to Haryana’s women because of the protests. “The daughters of Haryana are now facing embarrassment because of this protest. The real responsibility lies with Bhupinder Hooda, Deepender Hooda, and the protesters, not with us,” he added.
He also addressed the allegations against him, claiming he was not in Delhi on the day the allegations were made and accused Hooda of using women athletes for political gain. “They used the issue of women’s dignity for politics and defamed our athletes. I am not guilty of disrespecting women; if anyone is, it is Bajrang and Vinesh, with Hooda scripting the whole affair,” Singh said.
Earlier on Friday, Phogat and Punia, both prominent wrestlers, joined the Congress party ahead of the Haryana assembly elections. Phogat recently became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final in Paris, and Punia won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. They also resigned from their positions at Northern Railways on the same day. Shortly after their induction, Phogat was announced as the Congress candidate for the Julana constituency, and Punia was appointed as the working president of the All India Kisan Congress. They joined the party in the presence of Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Pawan Khera, Udai Bhan, and AICC in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria.
