Home"Make a woman president of WFI": Protesting wrestlers put 5 demands before the government
2023-06-07T11:00:35.257Z
Highlights: Wrestlers meet with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in New Delhi. They have put forward their five demands to the government. They want a woman to be the head of the Wrestling Federation of India. They also want the case against Brij Bhushan Singh to be withdrawn. The wrestlers resumed their protest at Jantar Mantar on April 23. The government is ready to accept most of their demands. But there is a tussle between the two sides over Singh's arrest.
A meeting was held between the players and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday amid the ongoing standoff between the agitating wrestlers and the central government. The wrestlers have put forward their five demands to the central government. In which his most important demand is that a woman should be made the head of the Wrestling Federation of India.
New Delhi:Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik held talks with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his residence on Wednesday. This was the second meeting between the wrestlers and the government in five days. Seven women wrestlers have accused the wrestling federation president of sexual harassment. Earlier on Saturday, the wrestlers had a meeting with Amit Shah, now on Wednesday they have a meeting with Anurag Thakur. The wrestlers have placed 5 demands in front of the minister. These include free and fair elections for the Wrestling Federation of India and the appointment of a woman chief. It has also been said that Brij Bhushan Singh or his family members cannot be part of the WFI. The wrestler also wants that on the day India's new Parliament building was inaugurated. The case filed against him for his protest on that day should be withdrawn. At the same time, the wrestlers have also reiterated the demand for the arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh. Vinesh Phogat, a prominent face of this movement, did not attend the meeting. Because she has arrived in her village Balali in Haryana to participate in a pre-determined 'panchayat'. Anurag Thakur had tweeted at 12.47 am last night in an attempt to end the deadlock with wrestlers, "The government is ready to discuss their issues with wrestlers. I have once again invited wrestlers for this. The wrestlers, who had launched their campaign against Brij Bhushan Singh in January after which they were assured of an inquiry, resumed their protest at Jantar Mantar on April 23. It claimed that the underage girls were harassed by Singh and demanded his immediate arrest. On May 28, the wrestlers were removed from the protest site and detained by the police after they started marching towards the new Parliament building without permission. The government is ready to accept most of their demands, but there is a tussle between the two sides over Singh's arrest, news agency PTI reported. Significantly, Brij Bhushan Singh is also a BJP MP. The wrestlers have also resumed their duties with the Northern Railway last week. Both Punia and Malik are employees of the Indian Railways.
Source: ndtv