New Delhi, May 30: In the latest move, all the protesting wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik will head to Haridwar on Tuesday evening to discard all their medals in the holy river Ganga. The protesting wrestlers said after that they will come back to Delhi and sit on hunger strike at India Gate. Taking to Twitter, Olympic bronze medallist Malik and other wrestlers, shared a note, in which they strongly condemned the Delhi Police action. Wrestlers Protest: 'They Forcefully Dragged Us Inside Bus', Says Olympic Medallist Sakshi Malik On Being Detained by Delhi Police.
"We are going to discard our medals in holy river Ganga. These medals are our lives, our souls. There would be no reason to live after leaving them in the Ganga today. So, we will stage a hunger strike until death at India Gate after that," read the statement in Hindi. The wrestlers said the Prime Minister "who calls us our daughters", did not even once show his concern "for us".
"Rather, he invited Brij Bhushan Singh to the inauguration of the new Parliament building. He even posed for photographs," the statement said.
Dissenting Grapplers to Discard All Their Medals
— Sakshee Malikkh (@SakshiMalik) May 30, 2023
Top wrestlers, including Vinesh, Sakshi and Bajrang, are protesting against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment of female athletes, including a minor.
The protest which started on April 23 at Jantar Mantar saw heartbreaking visuals on the day of the new Parliament building's inauguration when Delhi Police cracked down on them in the midst of their march.
As the protesters tried to breach the security cordon, a fierce tussle broke out -- the wrestlers and cops pushed, shoved and grappled with one another.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 30, 2023 04:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).