Gurugram: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held a protest in Gurugram Friday in support of wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who was disqualified from the wrestling competition in Paris Olympics Thursday, and held the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Centre and state responsible for the “injustice” to the athlete.
The protest, led by AAP state president Sushil Gupta, came a day after he invited Phogat to join AAP to dislodge the BJP from power in the upcoming state elections in Haryana.
“You fought in the country, and you fought abroad too. They conspired against you in India, and they conspired against you on foreign soil, too. I want to tell Haryana’s daughter and this country’s daughter, Vinesh Phogat, that you are a fighter. You fought at Jantar Mantar, and you also fought in Paris. The whole country is with you,” Gupta said in a public meeting at Bahadurgarh on Wednesday.
“I invite you…. AAP welcomes you. Come and join us. We will together dislodge this dictator from the government,” added Gupta. He later posted a video of his speech on X.
The unexpected disqualification of Vinesh Phogat — one of India’s most celebrated wrestlers — has not only outraged her supporters but also ignited a fierce political debate within Haryana.
Opposition parties such as the AAP and Congress have swiftly capitalised on the situation, accusing the BJP of allowing the “injustice” to Phogat, who, last year, took a stand against the Modi administration.
Last year, Phogat, along with other athletes, accused BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexually harassing women wrestlers in a protest that drew national attention and shone a spotlight on the struggles of women in sports.
Responding to the allegations by the AAP and Congress, the BJP has accused opposition leaders of exploiting Vinesh Phogat’s situation for political mileage.
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‘Political stunt’
Randeep Surjewala, a prominent Congress leader from Haryana, has been particularly vocal in his criticism, questioning the fairness of the disqualification process and demanding an independent investigation.
In a post on X Wednesday, Surjewala wrote, “Yesterday, every citizen of the country was celebrating as if their daughter had won. But the sports minister, the Prime Minister, and the BJP national president avoided congratulating Vinesh Phogat.”
“Vinesh is the same female wrestler who raised her voice against PM Modi’s favourite, Brij Bhushan Singh; sat in protest for more than 140 days for female wrestlers; was dragged on the street by BJP’s police and had an FIR filed against her. Despite all this, she hoisted the Indian flag at the Olympics, but a conspiracy defeated her,” he added.
Surjewala posted a series of messages on X, pointing fingers at the BJP government for Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification.
Former Haryana chief minister and now Leader of Opposition in the Haryana state assembly Bhupinder Singh Hooda added fuel to the fire by declaring Thursday that if he had enough MLAs, he would have ensured Vinesh Phogat’s elevation to the Rajya Sabha.
This has added a new dimension to the political discourse in the state, where Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification has already become a hot-button issue.
Hooda’s statement came hours after Haryana CM Nayab Saini declared that the government would grant Vinesh Phogat all the benefits awarded to Olympic silver medalists despite her disqualification.
“The Haryana government should honour the country’s athlete daughter, Vinesh Phogat, who made it to the finals of the Paris Olympics, with the same respect and awards as a gold medal winner, not just as a silver medalist,” Hooda said.
“The Congress party does not have a majority in Haryana for the Rajya Sabha elections, otherwise we would have given a Rajya Sabha seat to wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who has brought honour to the country, to boost the morale of our athletes,” he added.
However, the minimum age for election to Rajya Sabha is 30 years, and Vinesh Phogat will be three days short of turning 30 when the nominations for the Rajya Sabha are to be scrutinised on August 22.
Criticising Hooda’s statement as a “political stunt”, Saini said he was merely trying to gain sympathy and votes ahead of the upcoming elections. Saini also accused Hooda of exploiting Vinesh Phogat’s situation rather than offering genuine support to her.
The party posted Vinesh’s uncle Mahabir Phogat‘s video from the official X handle of Haryana BJP to criticise Hooda, accusing him of being anti-sportspersons. Mahabir, whose daughter Babita Phogat is a BJP leader, alleged in the video that despite his daughters, Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat, winning medals when Hooda was CM, Hooda did not give them the posts they deserved.
“Hooda appointed Geeta an inspector in Haryana Police and Babita a sub-inspector. Geeta eventually got the DSP (deputy superintendent of police) job through the court,” said Mahavir in the video, accusing Hooda of doing politics in Vinesh Phogat’s case.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) National Secretary General Abhay Singh Chautala jumped into the slugfest, asking Hooda to stop doing politics in the name of athletes.
Speaking to media persons at Sirsa on Thursday, Chautala questioned why Hooda did not send the Olympic medalist in javelin throw — Neeraj Chopra — to the Rajya Sabha in 2020 and instead chose his son, Deepender Hooda, for the Upper House.
However, Neeraj Chopra won gold in the Tokyo Olympics in August 2020, and Deepender Hooda was elected to the Rajya Sabha before that, in March 2020.
Abhay Singh Chautala added that if the INLD-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance forms the government in Haryana, it will offer Vinesh Phogat a job in HCS (Haryana Civil Services) or as DSP.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)