Mahavir Phogat shares his views on wrestlers’ protest

Mahavir Phogat opens up on wrestlers protest. ANI

Mahavir Phogat, the father of Geeta and Babita Phogat and former wrestler, has expressed solidarity towards top wrestlers protesting against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

WFI president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been accused of sexual harassment by seven women wrestlers including a minor.

Read: ‘Anurag Thakur tried to hush up the matter’, Vinesh alleges amid protest

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I am not a criminal: WFI chief slams wrestlers over FIR

The Olympic coach, became a prominent name after Aamir Khan played his character in the top-hit film Dangal. Mahavir said that he doesn’t expect much from the Bollywood star but Aamir’s tweet in support of the wrestlers’ protest would be welcomed.

“I don’t have expectations from any stars but if he (Aamir Khan) tweets in support, we would like it,” India Today quoted Mahavir as saying.

It’s to be noted that Indian film star Aamir Khan quit the microblogging site Twitter in 2021 after celebrating his 56th birthday.

Also read: WFI sexual harassment case: ‘Justice should be delivered to athletes’ — says IOA athletes commission member

Phogat said that his family is not trying to usurp power and the protest is being done to fight for justice.

“This is a do-or-die situation. We will sit on dharna till we get justice. We are united in this fight. Babita (Phogat) is also part of this fight,” Mahavir Phogat told India Today.

“There was a dharna in January as well. We wanted to inform the sports minister, BJP chief JP Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah about the situation. They would have resolved the issue. A committee was formed (to probe the charges) but it did not do justice and no report was filed.

“There is no politics over the issue. The allegation that my family is trying to usurp power is false. Our family is together. We won’t take any position in WFI,” he added.

The Dronacharya awardee also spoke about Mary Kom, who is the head of the oversight committee formed in January to investigate the allegation against Singh and PT Usha, who is the president of the Indian Olympic Association(IOA).

Usha had earlier said that protests were tarnishing the image of India.

“PT Usha and Mary Kom being women sportspersons know better. The BJP says ‘beti bachao, beti padhao (save the daughters, educate the daughters). But it’s not about the BJP. Will I not stand with my children?” Mahavir Phogat asked.

Read More: ‘Asian Games trials are just 2 months away’: Non-protesting wrestlers demand resumption of national camp

Earlier, Phogat had tweeted a picture of the protest with a caption in support of the athletes. The caption which was written in Hindi read, “Give justice to India’s daughters”.

Top Indian wrestlers including Olympic medalists Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and World Championship medalist Vinesh Phogat have been on protest against Brij Bhushan since April 23.

The Delhi Police on Friday filed two FIRs against Brij Bhushan. The first FIR was registered under the POCSO Act, while the second was related to outraging modesty. Both FIRs were registered after SC’s intervention.

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