Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who joined the Congress ahead of the Haryana assembly elections, will soon get approval from the Railways to contest the elections. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has asked former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to refrain from commenting against the two Olympians and talking to the media about them. Phogat and Punia had resigned from the post of railway employees before joining the Congress. Phogat will have to get approval from her department before September 12 to file nomination papers for the upcoming elections.
Northern Railway has started the process of accepting the resignations of wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia and both the players are likely to be relieved soon. Punia and Phogat recently joined the Congress. Phogat has been given a ticket to contest from Julana assembly seat in Haryana.
“The provision of serving three-month notice period after resignation by a railway employee will not come in the way of relieving these two players as we have decided to relax the norms in their cases,” a senior railway official told news agency PTI.
Railway sources said that both the players will probably be relieved from their posts today (September 8) or as soon as possible. Northern Railway had issued a show cause notice to both the players after they met party leader Rahul Gandhi to join Congress. Northern Railway had said that the show cause notice is a part of the service rules, as they are government employees. After this notice, both of them resigned from the Railways.
There was speculation that Phogat might not be able to contest the elections due to the three-month notice period rule. As per the election rules, she needs to officially retire from the railways to contest the elections. A Northern Railway official said that since the railways has now started the process of accepting her resignation, there is no obstacle in her contesting the elections.
Instructions to Brij Bhushan Singh to remain calm
Former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been attacking Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia since they joined the Congress. Singh on Sunday (September 8) alleged that the Hooda family of Congress conspired against him (Singh) by putting wrestlers at stake just like the Pandavas had put Draupadi at stake in the Mahabharata. Singh, the former head of the Wrestling Federation of India, was accused of sexual harassment by several female wrestlers last year. They staged a sit-in for several weeks demanding an inquiry against him.
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Brij Bhushan, who is facing allegations of sexual harassment by some wrestlers, also attacked the two athletes on Saturday (September 7). He alleged that the protest was a conspiracy of the Congress against him, masterminded by the Hooda family. After the wrestlers joined the Congress, he said that now his allegation has been proven right. Even during the entire crisis, he had claimed that former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son Deepender Singh Hooda were behind the protests.
But, now the BJP top leadership has asked him to refrain from commenting on the wrestlers and to avoid interacting with the media on any issue related to the case. A BJP leader aware of the developments told News18, “This is a very sensitive issue in Haryana. The party does not want to give the opposition any chance to allege that they are anti-women.” When Haryana goes to polls next month, it will be a test for the BJP, which has been in power in the state for the past two terms.
Also read- Haryana polls: Will Julana’s daughter-in-law Vinesh Phogat be able to make Congress win after 15 years?
Apart from facing a massive anti-incumbency wave, the saffron party is facing several other issues. This includes the impact of the “anti-Jat” sentiment and agitations by wrestlers as well as farmers. After joining the Congress on September 6, Phogat and Punia said they will continue their fight against Brij Bhushan. Vinesh asserted that she will ensure that no woman has to suffer what she has suffered.
