Students' Federation of India (SFI) has called for a nationwide protest tomorrow, April 27, in solidarity with the women wrestlers who have been sexually harassed at national camps by Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP MP and the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). “It is an SFI Central Executive Council (CEC) nationwide protest call,” informs Sagnik Sarkar, a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) SFI student who is leading the protest.
Olympian and international wrestlers like Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat have been protesting in Delhi since January 2023, demanding action against the minister for sexually harassing female wrestlers. In between, the protests were halted and later resumed at Jantar Mantar again this month alleging that the minister is now resorting to strong-arm tactics and trying to break the victims by issuing threats and offering bribes, reports PTI.
"We will go when we get justice. If we are at fault we are ready to face punishment. We hope that Supreme Court will serve justice and we will move forward according to directions given by the legal team," Punia was quoted by the ANI.
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had announced the formation of an oversight committee, led by MC Mary Kom, to investigate the probe after the allegations against Brij Bhushan Singh came to light in January.
