Wrestlers' Political Moves Stir Controversy

Renowned wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joining Congress has sparked allegations from BJP leaders of a politicized protest movement. Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta and former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh claimed the wrestlers were part of a Congress-led conspiracy, exposing political manipulation in sports.

The political landscape in Haryana saw a dramatic twist as prominent wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress party on Friday. This move has drawn sharp criticism from BJP leaders, with Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta alleging that former Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda had orchestrated Vinesh Phogat's protest at Jantar Mantar.

Gupta accused Hooda of giving Phogat special treatment and backing her protest to gain political mileage. 'The way Bhupinder Singh Hooda sponsored Vinesh Phogat's protest in Jantar Mantar and she was given such special treatment, what the former WFI president said about her getting a special recommendation to get promoted, in sports, such things must not happen,' he said on Saturday.

Adding to the controversy, former WFI president and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh claimed that the entire wrestlers' movement was a 'conspiracy' by the Congress party. 'When the protest started at Jantar Mantar in January, I said this is not a movement of sportspersons; Congress is behind it, led by Bhupinder Hooda. Today, this has been proven,' Singh asserted. He argued that the protest was not about the dignity of women athletes but was politically motivated, causing embarrassment to Haryana's daughters.

The defection of Phogat and Punia to Congress comes just a month before the state assembly polls. The two wrestlers, who resigned from their positions in Northern Railways earlier on Friday, have already been assigned significant roles within the party. Vinesh Phogat is set to contest from Julana constituency, while Bajrang Punia has been appointed working president of the All India Kisan Congress.

(With inputs from agencies.)