After the ban on the picketing of wrestlers at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, now the International Wrestler has taken a big decision. In a tweet on Tuesday, Vinesh Phogat has announced to shed the Olympic medals in the Ganga.
Also Read: Protesting wrestlers criticized Brij Bhushan's comment on their medals as reprehensible
Wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and Vinesh Phogat, who have been protesting against the WFI chief and demanding his arrest, put out a joint statement saying, "These medals are our life and soul. After we put it in River Ganga, there would be no meaning for us to live. So we will got to India Gate and sit on a fast unto death."
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) May 30, 2023
The wrestlers, who had been protesting at the Jantar Mantar, were marching to the new Parliament building on Sunday. They want to hold a women's 'Mahapanchayat' outside the Parliament as it was being inaugurated. But they were detained by the Delhi Police on the way. Later the police registered FIRs against them and cleared out their protest site at Jantar Mantar. When the wrestlers were being detained, they resisted. They led to dramatic images where wrestlers were being grabbed and lifted by multiple policewomen and put into buses.
Vinesh Phogat further said, "India Gate is the place of those martyrs who sacrificed their bodies for the country. We are not as pious as them, but while playing at the international level, our feelings were also like those soldiers. The unholy system is doing its work and we are doing ours. Now people will have to understand whether she is standing with these daughters of hers or with that whitewashing system which is harassing these daughters. Today at 6 pm, we will float our medals in the Ganga in Haridwar."
The wrestlers added that "The Prime Minister who calls us our daughters, but he did not even once show his concern for the grapplers. Rather, he invited the 'oppressor' (Brij Bhushan) to the inauguration of the new Parliament building. He even posed for photographs in bright white clothes. We have been stained by this brightness." the statement said.