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Khaps vow to get ‘justice’ for wrestlers, say will meet President
Around 50 khaps or clan-based outfits in India have decided to support the ongoing protest by the country's top wrestlers.
Representatives of around 50 khaps or clan-based outfits met in Muzaffarnagar on Thursday and decided to support an ongoing protest by India’s top wrestlers, announcing that they will meet President Droupadi Murmu to press for action even as the Union government reiterated that it was handling the stir sensitively.
Called by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Naresh Tikait, the meeting went on for roughly three hours and took a slew of other decisions that will be announced at a “mahapanchayat” in Haryana’s Kurukshetra on Friday.
“Representatives of the khaps will meet the President and the government in support of the wrestlers and the fight will continue till they get justice,” BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said.
“The wrestlers won laurels for the country and their only caste is the ‘tiranga’ (Tricolour). Now the society will fight for them,” added Rakesh Tikait.
The developments came two days after Naresh Tikait convinced Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, Rio Games bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, and double World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat — they have 45 senior international medals between them — to hold off on immersing their medals in the Ganga amid high drama in Haridwar, and asked for five days to fulfil their demands.
The wrestlers want the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Gonda who has ruled Indian wrestling for 12 years, over allegations of sexual harassment of athletes, including at least one minor. Singh has denied the charges, hit back at the wrestlers, and even said that their medals are worth ₹15 each. Though he has been removed from WFI, which stands suspended, and two FIRs have been filed against him, the wrestlers have demanded that he be arrested immediately.
In Mumbai, Union sports minister Anurag Thakur said the government had accepted the wrestlers’ demand for a committee to probe their allegations and asked the players to trust the investigation.
“We are handling this issue very sensitively. Whatever the players demanded, we are doing all those things. Necessary action will be also taken once Delhi Police file the charge sheet. To all those politicising this issue, I would like to say that the law is equal for everyone and all the players are important to us,” he said.
“When the wrestlers asked the government to add one more member to the probe committee, we did that as well. Now, the investigation is underway. We even stopped all day-to-day activity of WFI and gave the job of taking care of the federation to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). I request our sportspersons to let the investigation get completed. You will have to trust the police, Supreme Court, and sports ministry,” he added.
The wrestlers weren’t present at Thursday’s meeting in Muzaffarnagar, which was attended by outfits from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. They won’t be present in the Friday mahapanchayat either, Chaudhary Surender Solanki, president of the influential Palam 360 khap, confirmed.
“We will meet the President and the government and if they do not take any decision, we will take the next step,” Rakesh Tikait said, without elaborating further.
Solanki said a 5- to 7-member delegation will be sent to the President. “The delegation won’t have any wrestlers. Only khap and farm leaders will be part of it. We will soon write to the President and seek her time,” he added.
Singh, who has repeatedly denied all charges against him, said on Wednesday that he would hang himself if a single allegation were proved against him. “It’s been four months. They want me to be hanged. The government is not hanging me and so they are going to immerse their medals in the Ganga,” he said in Gonda on Thursday.
“Immersing your medals in the Ganga won’t get me hanged. If you (wrestlers) have any evidence, present it to the court and I am ready to accept any punishment,” he added.
Naresh Tikait, who heads the Balyan khap, said the battle will continue till the wrestlers get justice.
“This is a common platform where everyone has their importance and we will take a unanimous decision. Our battle for justice for wrestlers will continue,” said Naresh Tikait.
Gurjars, Muslims and members other communities also attended the mahapanchayat.
“It is a sarv khap panchayat which means representatives of all communities can take part in it. And many of these representatives attended this today,” said Subhash Baliyan, general secretary of the Sarv Khap.
Samajwadi Party (SP) lawmaker Atul Pradhan said the Gurjar community backed the mahapanchayat’s decision to fight for the “honour of daughters.”
“I assure that the Gurjar community will extend their full support to the decision of the sarv khap panchayat for seeking justice to wrestlers,” said Atul Pradhan, who participated in the panchayat as a representative of the Bainsla khap.
Baliyan said chiefs of different khaps attended the panchayat at very short notice.
RLD lawmaker Rajpal Baliyan and SP leader Harendra Malik also participated in the meeting, but as representatives of their Khap, not as politicians.
The developments mark a fresh turn in the protracted stir with community leaders throwing their weight behind the stir. It underlines the urgency for the government to reach out to the protesters and find a solution in what is a crucial year for Indian sport.
The meeting came two days after unprecedented scenes on the banks of the Ganga in Haridwar that saw wrestlers breaking down in a huddle that played out on live television. Malik and Phogat sat clasping their box full of medals while their spouses, wrestlers Satyavrat Kadian and Somveer Rathee, comforted them. Punia, one of the most successful Indian sportsmen in history — he has one Olympic medal, four World Championship medals, and two Asian Games medals —broke down as their supporters formed a human chain to shield them from the huge crowd that had assembled at the ghat on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra.
All three tweeted passionate statements expressing their hurt, especially after the protests took an ugly turn on Sunday when they were detained by police while marching from Jantar Mantar to the new Parliament building. “We feel why did we even win medals at Olympics or World Championships. Did we win medals to be dragged on the streets and be declared criminals?” they wrote.
