Support to Protesting Wrestlers: Women’s Mahapanhayat in Front of New Parliament Building on May 28
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 21: Hundreds of farmers gathered in Meham, a town in Rohtak district in Haryana, on Sunday to express their solidarity with the protesting wrestlers and the “Khap Mahapanchayat” decided to hold a women’s panchayat in front of the new Parliament building on May 28 when the prime minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate it.
The leaders of khap panchayats met on a day when a “major decision” was anticipated in favour of the wrestlers holding dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi demanding punitive actions against the Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brijbhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual misconduct, but after hours of deliberations, the “mahapanchayat” only came out with the decision to move to Parliament. A final decision on the future course of action will be taken at the Mahila Mahapanchayat there, they added.
The farmers’ meeting, which was attended by representatives of various khap panchayats and farmer organisations, passed a resolution demanding that Singh undergo a narco test and face legal action for his accusations. The farmers’ groups also pledged to support the protesting wrestlers whenever they call for assistance, regardless of the time.
From among the protesting wrestlers Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyawart Kadiyan attended the mahapanchayat while Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat stayed back at the protest site at Jantar Mantar.
“They have taken four decisions. The women’s panchayat on May 28. On May 23 we will hold candle light march from Jantar Mantar to India Gate. The Mahapanchayat reiterated its demand of the arrest of Brij Bhushan and it was promised that on wrestlers’ call, khaps would reach the protest site within five hours of the call,” Punia elaborated.
“We welcome this decision by the Mahapanchayat,” said Punia, who was asked if the wrestlers are satisfied with the move. “Whether the men’s supporters will accompany the women or not, will be decided later,” he said.
The decision means that the wrestlers have made up their mind to stretch their fight against WFI chief, who they have accused of sexual exploitation of several women grapplers. The IOA’s ad-hoc panel which is tasked with running the affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India is likely to organise the Asian Games trials around June 20.
The protesting wrestlers are hardly getting any time to practice and it will be extremely difficult for them to counter their competitors in their respective categories if at all they decide to appear in the trials. “I am willing to even sacrifice even an Olympic medal in this fight,” said Punia, who won a bronze at the Tokyo Games.
A 31-member committee, including farmers and khap leaders, was formed to chalk out plans on behalf of the wrestlers while a nine-member committee was formed to guide them on decisions related to the sport.
The Delhi Police has filed two FIRs against Brij Bhushan, who is a BJP MP from Kaiserganj, after the wrestlers moved the Supreme Court but no further action was taken on the issue.
The farmers’ meeting came amid heightened security measures in and around Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where wrestlers had revived their sit-in protest last month. The police said they had deployed multi-layer barricades, CCTV cameras and additional personnel to prevent things from getting out of hand. They also said they had intensified checking of vehicles entering Delhi from its borders.
The wrestlers have accused Mr Singh of sexually harassing seven of them, including a minor, and have demanded his arrest and removal from his post.
The wrestlers had warned that they might take a “big decision” at the meeting if their demands are not met by then. The sexual harassment allegations against Mr Singh had surfaced in January, sparking protests from wrestlers demanding his arrest.
