New Delhi: India’s ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who has been protesting at Jantar Mantar with other top grapplers against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has said it is tough to stand against a powerful person who is misusing his power and position for a very long time.
The wrestlers are protesting over sexual harassment charges against the WFI chief and demanding his arrest.
Addressing the media, Olympian Vinesh Phogat said yesterday, “It is very difficult to stand against a person who is misusing his power and position for so long.”
Vinesh Phogat has made shocking allegations against Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. She said, “Sports minister tried to hush up matter
Wrestlers Protest: Vinesh Phogat Alleged That Sports Minister Anurag Thakur Tried To Suppress Matter
New Delhi: India’s ace wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who has been protesting at Jantar Mantar with other top grapplers against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has said it is tough to stand against a powerful person who is misusing his power and position for a very long time.
The wrestlers are protesting over sexual harassment charges against the WFI chief and demanding his arrest.
Addressing the media, Olympian Vinesh Phogat said yesterday, “It is very difficult to stand against a person who is misusing his power and position for so long.”
Vinesh Phogat has made shocking allegations against Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. She said, “Sports minister tried to hush up matter yet again by forming a committee.”, claiming that complaints related to sexual harassment have been hushed by the Wresting Federation of India (WFI) before and that Anurag Thakur has now done the same by forming an oversight panel instead of taking concrete action.
Vinesh, the biggest face of the wrestlers’ protest, claimed that twice in the past sexual harassment cases were reported during the national camp but the Wresting Federation of India (WFI) succeeded in sweeping the matter under the carpet.
“During the 2012 national camp, a sexual harassment complaint was lodged at a police station. Within 24 hours that case was hushed up. In 2014 a physio, who was also trainer of Geeta Phogat, raised a similar matter and he was removed from the camp within 24 hours. From that day, his wife could not participate in any competition.
“Before we started our protest, three months back, we had explained everything to a government official how sexual harassment was taking place and how women wrestlers were being tortured mentally. The athletes were being pushed to a stage where they could have done anything with their lives.
“We waited for three-four months but when nothing happened, we came to Jantar Mantar. When we met the sports minister, the women wrestlers shared individual incidents related to sexual harassment. The girls were crying before him but no action was taken at that time.
“Sports minister tried to hush up matter yet again by forming a committee. We have tried to raise this issue at every level but the matter was always suppressed,” said Vinesh.
Claiming that complaints related to sexual harassment have been hushed by the Wresting Federation of India (WFI) before and that Anurag Thakur has now done the same by forming an oversight panel instead of taking concrete action.
Vinesh, the biggest face of the wrestlers’ protest, claimed that twice in the past sexual harassment cases were reported during the national camp but the Wresting Federation of India (WFI) succeeded in sweeping the matter under the carpet.
“During the 2012 national camp, a sexual harassment complaint was lodged at a police station. Within 24 hours that case was hushed up. In 2014 a physio, who was also trainer of Geeta Phogat, raised a similar matter and he was removed from the camp within 24 hours. From that day, his wife could not participate in any competition.
“Before we started our protest, three months back, we had explained everything to a government official how sexual harassment was taking place and how women wrestlers were being tortured mentally. The athletes were being pushed to a stage where they could have done anything with their lives.
“We waited for three-four months but when nothing happened, we came to Jantar Mantar. When we met the sports minister, the women wrestlers shared individual incidents related to sexual harassment. The girls were crying before him but no action was taken at that time.
“Sports minister tried to hush up matter yet again by forming a committee. We have tried to raise this issue at every level but the matter was always suppressed,” said Vinesh.
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