“The BJP is an expert at branding anyone as anti-national or Muslim, saying they don’t love their country or accusing them of being associated with the Congress, in order to suppress the truth. However, we will bring the truth before the country through the courts,” Phogat told ThePrint in an interview during her busy campaign schedule.
Phogat also expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence when she, along with Olympic medalist wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Mallik, protested against Brij Bhushan Singh on the streets in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar area.
Brij Bhushan Singh has denied any wrongdoing.
“Why didn’t Prime Minister Modi call us when we were protesting against sexual assault at Jantar Mantar? Why didn’t he send Brij Bhushan Singh to jail to disprove the myth that we belong to the Hooda family? We were protesting to achieve a political goal,” Phogat said.
Some BJP leaders had said the protest at Jantar Mantar was a political movement sponsored by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to get the wrestlers to support the Congress.
Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who served as chief minister of Haryana for a whole decade until earlier this year, told a TV channel Monday, “The day Vinesh and Bajrang Punia played the game at Jantar Mantar, we understood that this is Congress’s game.”
About the Prime Minister’s tweet describing her as a “champion among champions,” Phogat said there was no purity in the tweet. “I would have felt good if the tweet was made with good intentions and purity.”
‘Girls see their reflection in me’
Phogat, who is from Charkhi Dadri but now lives in Bakhta Kheda village of Julana, her husband Somvir Rathee’s home, gained global recognition after she made Olympic history by defeating world champion Lopez Guzman in the semi-finals before her shock disqualification.
Phogat’s decision to take the political plunge and join the Congress after her emotional return from the Paris Olympics wasn’t surprising.
On her entry into politics with the Congress and how people received her, Phogat admitted she has been overwhelmed by the love and support she has received. People saw their own journey reflected in hers and women, in particular, connected with her, she said.
“The amount of love I was getting in sports, I am getting in politics is more than I expected. This is a very big thing for me.”
Adding, “Usually people don’t like politicians, especially sportspersons who go into politics are not received well. My responsibilities have risen much more because the people’s expectations are higher and their dreams are much bigger, all by seeing my journey. Girls especially are happy after seeing me as they see their reflection in me. Women are happy. They think of me as one of their own who has come here to address their problem.”
Phogat doesn’t believe in caste politics
The Congress is pinning its hopes on Phogat’s popularity among the Jats, farmers, women and the youth, but Julana won’t be an easy win for her even though it is a Jat-dominated constituency. Although the Congress has an edge in Haryana and the BJP faces a strong anti-incumbency wave, Julana isn’t a Congress stronghold but is dominated by regional parties such as the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).
Still, Phogat isn’t deterred.
What’s her pitch to voters considering Julana has many contestants from the same caste? Phogat says caste politics is not her game and her priority is to solve people’s problems.
“I am a player. I have given 24 years to sports. During wrestling, I never cared about who belonged to which caste. I never came to know in our camp who belonged to which caste.”
She added, “I don’t believe in this type of politics that I am a Jat and so I have to play Jat politics. I want to remain firm on my principles.”
The main issues, according to her, are the condition of roads and schools as well as the lack of infrastructure for sportspeople in Haryana. “The situation here has only worsened in the last 10 years. For me, in my heart, in my mind, there is a separate place for sports. If I get elected, I will create facilities for sports and for athletes. For the rest though, I will also fully try to fulfill their aspirations by providing healthcare, education and other amenities.”
Phogat says the love and support of the people pushed her to fight again and join politics after her Olympic disqualification.
“The people of this country persuaded me not to do rona dhona (wail) and become disheartened. When I came back from the Olympics, thousands of people had high expectations from me. Those people have encouraged me. Everyone I met said, ‘If people like you don’t fight, then who will fight?’,” she said.
“I got courage from people who wished me or said you’re not destined to cry over the disqualification. Athletes who return from the Olympics without a medal usually can’t cope. But the people of this country gave me a lot of love and courage to start fighting again.”
Also read: Populist promises in Congress & BJP manifestos for Haryana polls threaten to strain state’s budget
Her inspiration: Indira Gandhi
Phogat is not deterred by the perception that largely corrupt people are successful in the world of politics. She says she’s aware of the challenges but doesn’t see politics as a “bad thing” and instead regards it as a 24-hour job of serving people.
“I want to remain pure and clean in politics without any taint … till now I have remained pure, with a clean mind, and a clean image. I hope that it remains this way,” Phogat said.
“A few people can be bad, but no profession can be called bad, whether it’s sports or politics. In politics, if you want to work for the people, you have to give them effort and time. It is a 24-hour job; there is no Sunday and Saturday. We have to remain among the public non-stop.”
Phogat believes India has had many good politicians who were respected by the people.
Who is her favorite politician? Indira Gandhi, she says, without any hesitation. “Indira Gandhi was such a woman; her boldness, ability to fight and decision-making capabilities were just on another level. She was a person whose personality influenced me.”
“I’m not saying this because I have joined the Congress, but during childhood, my grandmother used to sing verses about Indira Gandhi. My mother also used to narrate stories of the Iron Lady Mrs Gandhi to influence me to become like her in life.
“Only when I grew up did I get to know she was a fighter and courageous woman who made big decisions with great resolve.”
Does Phogat see any similarities between Indira Gandhi’s journey and hers? “For women, struggles begin immediately after birth. This is a good thing. Women like me get to learn a lot of things from this struggle. It’s not a bad thing; nature can’t exist without women.”
‘Not in mental state for another Olympics’
After Phogat returned from Paris, many wondered if she would try for an Olympic medal again. Her uncle, Mahavir Phogat, even tried to dissuade her from joining politics and wanted her to focus on winning a gold medal in the 2028 Olympics instead.
But Phogat says she isn’t in a “mental state” for another Olympics, at least for now.
“Competing in the Olympics isn’t a gudda-guddi game. You have to see your physical status, your body and weight, if you are mentally fit enough to compete or not,” she said.
“I have played three Olympics already, and I am not in a mental state to compete in another,” she added. “Entering politics was my own, personal decision.”
Asked about how returning without an Olympic medal affected her mentally, Phogat said the love she received from the people made her stronger.
“People’s love has make me stronger and it’s beyond winning a medal,” she said.
Adding, “I lost, but I am grateful that I received such love from our people. Other athletes, even after winning, can’t get the same love. Having the love and support of the people, it’s more than winning gold.”
‘Truth can’t be suppressed, will continue fight’
Phogat doesn’t want to dwell on whether she was denied her preferred weight category in the Olympics and forced to compete in one she was less comfortable in. “I do not want to talk about what happened in the Olympics. In every room, there is a story. I do not want to touch or open my story right now,” she said.
Does she want a change in the sports body’s management? She says she will continue her fight in court. “As far as Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is concerned, he is not the kind of person I want to say a single word about or waste time on. We will continue our fight in court and we will bring out the truth before the country.”
Phogat is determined not to give up the fight they began at Jantar Mantar.
“No girl will tear her own clothes to enter politics. Our family is a very respected one. We have grown up in such a society and for that matter, it was a good opportunity for BJP to break this myth that we belong to the Hooda family. Why didn’t BJP support us at that time? Why hasn’t the PM called us to talk? Why hasn’t the PM sent Brij Bhushan to jail?”
She believes the fight could have been resolved if BJP had supported the wrestlers.
“The BJP is a genius at playing this type of politics. If they had supported us, everything would have been sorted out. If anyone fights for the truth, it isn’t necessary they belong to the Congress,” she said.
“If anyone is fighting for the truth, they call the fighters deshdrohi or ‘anti-national’, brand them as Muslim, and tell people they do not love their country. To fight for the truth, you need courage. By branding people as BJP or Congress, the truth cannot be suppressed.”
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)
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