Rohtak (Haryana): In a significant turn of events ahead of the Assembly elections in Haryana, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini raised doubts about the Congress party’s intention after the renowned wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia decided to join the party.
On Friday, CM Saini said in Rohtak, “Every person has their own opinion about which ideology they want to associate with. Congress should clarify its intention behind this.”
CM Saini said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always taken decisions in the national interest.
“Congress has consistently opposed those decisions. Therefore, Congress needs to clarify their motives, especially since they engage in politics involving players, soldiers and farmers,” he said while speaking to reporters in Rohtak.
Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress earlier on Friday in the presence of Congress General Secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, party leader Pawan Khera, Haryana Congress Chief Udai Bhan and AICC in-charge of Haryana, Deepak Babaria.
Hours after joining, Congress appointed Punia as the working chairman of All India Kisan Congress and fielded Phogat as candidate from Julana Assembly constituency.
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The wrestlers resigned from their respective positions in Northern Railways earlier in the day.
The two well-known wrestlers made their political debut almost a month before the crucial Assembly polls in Haryana, adding an element of anticipation to the political landscape.
Voting for the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 5, and votes will be counted on October 8.
Punia, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, and Phogat, the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final, were in the forefront of the protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh (BJP MP) and its coaches of sexually harassing female players for years, demanding to disband WFI. In January last year, they staged a sit-in with 30 other wrestlers. Singh had said it was a conspiracy by the opposition Congress party to defame him. In May this year, a Delhi court ordered the framing of charges against Singh, who was also not given a ticket by the BJP to contest in the Lok Sabha elections.
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–IANS
