He decided to return the award in protest over the election of Sanjay Singh, a Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist, as the president of WFI.
Bajrang Punia.
Olympic medallist grappler Bajrang Punia on Friday, 22 December, returned the Padma Shri award in protest over the election of Sanjay Singh, a Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist, as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
“I am returning my Padmashree award to the Prime Minister. This is just my letter to say. This is my statement,” read a post shared by the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist wrestler on X, formerly Twitter.
On Thursday, Sanjay was elected as the president of the WFI after the panel led by the close aide of Brij Bhushan won 13 of the 15 posts.
Sakshi Malik, Bajrang, and Vinesh Phogat addressed a press conference after Sanjay’s election in which Sakshi, a bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, announced that she would quit the sport as a mark of protest.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bajrang wrote: “Honourable prime minister, I hope your health is well. You must be busy with many works but I am writing this to draw your attention to the wrestlers of the country.”
He added: “You must be aware that the women wrestlers of the country started a protest in January this year against Brij Bhushan Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment. I, too, joined their protest. The protest stopped after the government promised strong action.”
Expressing his disappointment, the star wrestler added, “But there was no FIR against Brij Bhushan even three months later. We again took to the streets in April so that the police would at least register an FIR against him.”
He said: “There were 19 complainants in January but the number came down to seven by April. This means Brij Bhushan exerted his influence on 12 women wrestlers.”
Bajrang was stopped at the Kartavya Path by Delhi Police officials when he tried to reach Parliament to meet Modi and hand over his letter in protest against Sanjay Singh’s election.
“No, I don’t have any permission. If you can please forward this letter to the PM because I can’t go inside. I am not protesting nor being aggressive,” Bajrang said while being stopped by Delhi Police officials.
मैं अपना पद्मश्री पुरस्कार प्रधानमंत्री जी को वापस लौटा रहा हूँ. कहने के लिए बस मेरा यह पत्र है. यही मेरी स्टेटमेंट है। 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/PYfA9KhUg9
— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) December 22, 2023
With tears in her eyes, Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik put her wrestling shoes on the table and announced her retirement from the sport as a mark of protest against Sanjay Singh winning the WFI election for the top job, in New Delhi on Thursday.
“We fought from our heart but if a man like Brij Bhushan, his business partner and a close aide, is elected as the president of WFI, I give up wrestling. From today onwards, you will not see me on the mat,” a teary-eyed Sakshi said and kept her shoes on the table in a dramatic announcement.
“We wanted a female president but that did not happen,” the 31-year-old, who is also a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, added.
Winning a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Games was the highlight of Sakshi’s 13-year-long career in which she won three Commonwealth Games medals, including gold in the 2022 edition, and four Asian Championship medals.
Sakshi had become India’s first woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal.
(With PTI inputs)
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