ON A day of high drama, the protesting wrestlers, led by Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat, announced on Tuesday that they would ‘immerse’ their medals in the Ganga river, and reached Har ki Pauri in Haridwar by evening.
After sitting in a huddle on the banks of the river for over an hour-and-a-half, where some of them could be seen sobbing as they clutched their medals and citations, the wrestlers reversed their decision, soon after Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait reached the spot and asked them to defer their decision by five days.
Protesting wrestlers sit at Har ki Pauri, in Haridwar district. (PTI)
Before Tikait’s arrival, as the crowd at the ghat grew bigger, a human chain of family members and other pehelwans shielded the wrestlers. Sakshi’s mother, Sudesh, held her daughter tight; Vinesh’s husband, Somvir Rathee, also a grappler, embraced her as she broke down and covered her face.
A little over an hour later, as Tikait and his supporters arrived at the spot, the wrestlers and the farm leader went into a brief huddle. And, minutes later, the wrestlers made their way to their parked vehicles.
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The wrestlers said there are a couple of reasons why they changed their minds, including a phone call from a BJP leader asking for some time, and pressure from the families not to go ahead with their plans.
Wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia started the protest on Wednesday. (Photo: Praveen Khanna)
“We were assured that our demands would be met, so we stepped back. However, in case the government goes back on its word, we will return to the Ganga again,” said a wrestler who did not want to be named.
“We have sought five days’ time and told the wrestlers to wait. After that, we will have a mahapanchayat and take the next course of action,” Tikait said, after the wrestlers left Har Ki Pauri.
A Union Minister from western Uttar Pradesh is also learnt to have reached out to the wrestlers and urged them not to ‘immerse’ their medals.
Speaking to The Indian Express later, Tikait said he wanted to ensure that the wrestlers did not take any step in anger. “Bacche gusse me wahan chale gaye the… Humne unhe manaya ki aap aisa mat karo…(They got angry and went there… we convinced them not to do this),” he said.
Sakshi Malik, in blue, an Indian wrestler who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, is detained by the police during a protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar. (PTI)
Asked if he had spoken to the government before asking the wrestlers to defer their action, he replied, “No.” Asked if he would accompany wrestlers on their way back to Delhi, he said, “We will discuss this.”
Tikait, who is the head of the Balyan Khap, said he was at his residence in Muzaffarnagar till evening, when he heard of the wrestlers’ decision to go to Haridwar. He, along with other khap leaders and farmer leaders, then made their way to Haridwar.
“National president of Bhartiya Kisan Union and head of Balyan Khap, Chaudhary Naresh Tikait ji, and heads of other khaps are reaching Haridwar soon to meet wrestlers. All wrestlers are requested not to take wrong steps,” tweeted Tikait’s younger brother Rakesh Tikait at 6.28 pm.
Earlier in the day, in a common statement posted on their social media accounts, the wrestlers said they were taking the drastic step of parting with their hard-earned medals because of the manner in which they were treated by the police on May 28.
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sangeeta Phogat and Bajrang Punia with supporters during their protest march towards new Parliament building, in New Delhi, Sunday, May 28, 2023. (PTI Photo)
Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh, who began their sit-in at Jantar Mantar on April 23, were among the over 700 detained on Sunday. They were dragged, lifted off the road and put into police vans when they tried to cross security barricades and march to the new Parliament building, outside which a women’s mahapanchayat was scheduled. They were later released.
“All of you saw what happened on May 28, the way we were treated and detained by the police. The police not only cleared our protest area at Jantar Mantar, but also registered FIRs against us, despite the fact that we were protesting peacefully. Have female athletes committed some crime by asking for justice for the sexual harassment committed against them? We have been treated like criminals,” said the statement.
“These medals are our life and soul. After we ‘immerse’ them in the Ganga, there would be no meaning for us to live. So we will go to India Gate and sit on a fast unto death,” it said.
The Delhi Police, however, said the wrestlers would not be allowed to protest at India Gate as it is a “national monument and not a site for demonstrations”. On Monday, the Delhi Police had said the wrestlers would not be allowed back at Jantar Mantar but could protest at any “suitable place” after seeking permission.
Wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Sangeeta Phogat and Bajrang Punia along with other protesters
The choice to part with their medals was a tough call and a matter of “self respect”, the wrestlers said in their statement.
While they have been protesting on the streets of the Capital for over a month now, appealing to fellow sportspersons to rally behind them, turning to politicians for support and khap leaders for advice, and even making direct appeals to the Prime Minister, the events over the weekend pushed them into a corner, forcing them to consider the drastic step.
It included failed late-night negotiations with the government and subtle attempts to break the group, said sources. The last straw was their forceful eviction from Jantar Mantar.
According to sources, on the eve of their proposed march to the new Parliament, a high-ranking cabinet minister met Sakshi and her husband. During the last-minute parleys, the government is learnt to have proposed that action would be taken against Brij Bhushan after the police file a chargesheet. The wrestlers, however, were steadfast in their demand for his immediate arrest.
Sangeeta Phogat and Vinesh Phogat being detained by police. (Express photo by Amit Mehra)
With the police filing FIRs against them on Sunday, the wrestlers said they spent the whole of Monday hiding in the fields. “The authorities should have caught the accused, but they were trying to threaten the women who were the victims to end their protest and to break them,” they said.
The wrestlers are demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by seven female wrestlers, including a minor. Singh has been named in two FIRs registered by the Delhi Police on April 28, including one under the POCSO Act pertaining to the allegations of the minor wrestler.