Rahul Gandhi (Photo: PTI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited an 'akhara' in Haryana's Jhajjar district on Wednesday morning and met a group of wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia.
According to the senior Haryana Congress leader from the district, Gandhi reached the “Virender Akhara” in Chhara village early in the morning.
Later he interacted with the wrestlers including Punia.
Gandhi's meeting with the wrestlers comes against the backdrop of a controversy surrounding the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
Two-time World Cup medalist Vinesh Phogat decided to return her Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards to the Prime Minister on Tuesday. She said such awards have become meaningless when wrestlers fight hard for justice.
Phogat's decision comes days after Olympic medalist Punia and Deafylmpics champion Virender Singh Yadav returned their Padma Shri awards and Rio Games bronze medalist Sakshi Malik quit the sport following the election of Sanjay Singh as WFI president on 21st of December.
Sanjay Singh is an associate of Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan and the wrestlers did not want anyone close to the BJP MP to enter the WFI.
Brij Bhushan was accused of sexual harassment by Phogat, Punia and Malik. Early this year, they had staged a prolonged protest at Jantar Mantar.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: December 27, 2023 | 9:49 am IST