New Delhi:On a drama-filled Tuesday, some of India's best wrestlers accompanied by hundreds of supporters gathered here on the banks of the Ganga, threatening to immerse their World and Olympic medals in the holy river but refrained after being convinced by Khap and farmer leaders who sought five days to address their grievances.
Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat arrived at Har ki Pauri to protest the inaction against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has allegedly sexually harassed several women grapplers. Sakshi, Vinesh and her cousin Sangeeta were seen sobbing as their husbands tried to console them, even as scores of their supporters formed a cordon around them.
The wrestlers stood for about 20 minutes in silence after reaching Har ki Pauri. However, after spending an hour and 45 minutes, they returned after several khap and political leaders urged them not to take such an extreme step. As the deadline for the immersion of the medals drew closer, senior farmer leaders Sham Singh Malik and Naresh Tikait sought five days' time from the grapplers to resolve the issue.
Also read: Kharge calls in question Modi's claims on women security, asks why no action on wrestlers' demands
Meanwhile, Delhi police sources said the agitating wrestlers will not be allowed to shift their sit-in to India Gate as the national monument is not a site for demonstrations and alternative places for their dharna will be suggested. The wrestlers, who were removed by the Delhi Police from their Jantar Mantar protest site on Sunday, had earlier in the day said they would sit on a hunger strike "until death" at the India Gate. "India Gate is not a protest site and we will not allow them (wrestlers) to protest there," a police source said.
Here is a timeline of the protest that began in January and has now become a major issue for the central government
January 18: Wrestlers, led by Bajrang, Vinesh, and Sakshi marched to the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and started protesting with their demand that the Delhi Police must arrest WFI chief Singh. They alleged that Singh had been sexually harassing women wrestlers for years.
January 19: Ravi Dahiya, Tokyo Olympics Silver medalist, and Deepak Punia, World Championships silver medalist also joined in the protest as wrestler turned BJP leader Babita Phogat met with the protesting wrestlers, assuring them of quick action. On the same day, the wrestlers also meet Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his residence, but no solution is found.
January 20: Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha directs the formation of a seven-member enquiry committee after the wrestlers submitted a written complaint and demanded Brijbhusan Sharan Singh’s removal from the WFI post.
January 21: After WFI submitted their internal report saying that there was no evidence found against the charges levelled at president Singh, the sports ministry asked the wrestling body to suspend all its activities immediately.
January 23: Ministry forms a five-member oversight committee headed by boxer MC Mary Kom with Olympic medalist wrestler and BJP MLA Yogeshwar Dutt a part of it.
January 31: Wrestlers allege that they were not consulted before members of the Oversight Committee (OC) were decided. Babita Phogat was included as the sixth member of the OC. The committee was given four weeks to file its report.
April 16: WFI announces election for the post of president on May 7, 2023. This was done after the OC submitted its report to the ministry, but decided to not make it public.
April 23: Wrestlers return to the protest site at Jantar Mantar, this time around demanding the arrest of Brijbhushan Sharan Singh. They allege Delhi Police did not register FIR against Singh and also asked the sports ministry to make public the OC report.
April 24: Sports ministry said that the absence of an Internal Complaints Committee under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act was the main issue that the OC found. It further made the WFI election null and void and asked IOA to form a panel that will make sure that the next elections happen in 45 days from the day of formation of the panel and till then the panel should run all the businesses of WFI as an ad-hoc body.
April 25: Wrestlers move to the Supreme Court (SC) where they are represented by Congress leader Kapil Sibal who argued that FIR must be registered against Singh. The court also terms the matter involving a minor and seven girls alleging sexual harassment as serious and asked Delhi Police to file their response to the court’s query of why the FIR was not registered by Friday, April 28, 2023.
April 28: Delhi Police agrees to file FIR and SC also asks the Delhi Police commissioner to make sure that the wrestlers are not threatened by goons as alleged. Wrestlers said they will continue their protest till Singh is arrested.
May 03: After IOA forms a three-member committee and PT Usha shames wrestlers for putting out a bad image of the country, protesting wrestlers retaliate and claim that they did not receive any help from anybody in the govt, be it IOA or the sports ministry. Drunkard miscreants attack the protest site and few protesters are injured.
May 20: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Khap Panchayats of Western UP, Haryana and Rajasthan, Political party Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Rakesh Tikait led Bharatiya Kisan Union extended support to the protesters.
May 23: On completion of one month of their protest, the wrestlers staged a candlelight march to the India Gate and announced that they won medals under the national flag and now they will seek justice under it as well.
May 28: Wrestlers decide to march to the new parliament to demand justice. They say they will march peacefully and will hand over themselves to the police if need be. However, chaos is created as the new Parliament building is inaugurated at one end and the wrestlers are manhandled by the Delhi Police at the other.
May 29: After being released by the police, Bajrang Punia posts a tweet with three images which form part of an open letter, describing his and fellow wrestlers' inability to fight against the system after being brutally attacked by it. And therefore they say that they will immerse their medals in Ganga in Haridwar and sit on a fast unto death at India Gate
May 30: Protesting wrestlers refrain from their move at the last moment after farmer leader Naresh Tikait persuaded them to halt their proposed plan to consign their medals to Ganga. He seeks five days to address their grievances.
