'Puppets In The Hands Of The Congress': Babita Phogat Slams Sakshi Malik, Kadian

Commonwealth Games gold medallist and BJP leader Babita Phogat on Sunday hit out at Sakshi Malik and her wrestler-husband Satyawart Kadian, calling them "puppets in the hands of the Congress".

It comes a day after Sakshi Malik slammed Babita Phogat for trying to use the wrestlers for selfish motives and weaken their protest.

Babita tweeted, "Don't say such a thing that you have to hide after saying it, my friend. Yesterday, I felt very sad and laughed too when I was watching the video of my younger sister and her husband. First of all, I want to make it clear that the permission paper which the younger sister (Malik) was showing did not have my signature or my name anywhere on it. There is no proof of consent and neither is it remotely my concern."

"I have been saying from day one that have faith in the honorable Prime Minister and the judicial system of the country. The truth will definitely come out. Being a female player, I was always with all the players of the country, I am with and will always be with, but I was not in favour of this thing from the beginning of the protest. I have repeatedly told all the wrestlers that they must meet the Prime Minister or the home minister, and they will have their solution. But instead, they asked help from Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi, Deepender Hooda and others, who themselves are guilty of rape and other cases," she added.

In a clip shared on Saturday, Sakshi and her husband Satyawart Kadian alleged that it was Babita and another BJP leader Teerath Rana who had initially taken permission for the grapplers to protest at Jantar Mantar but later started advising them that the platform should not be used by parties for political purposes.

India's top wrestlers including Sakshi, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia have accused outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment and demanded his arrest.

However, Rana stated that neither he nor Babita tried to initially instigate the protest and then weaken it, saying the wrestlers are the pride of the nation and the respect of the sportspersons is uppermost on the mind of the BJP, according to a report in PTI.

"Look, wrestlers are the pride of the nation and the respect of sportspersons is uppermost on the mind of the BJP, and I also respect them a lot. I have always supported sportspersons," said Rana in a video.

Satyawart and Sakshi also furnished a letter, which allegedly showed Babita and Rana had taken permission from the Jantar Mantar police station for the wrestlers to stage a sit-in.

Sakshi, in a tweet on Sunday, wrote, "In the video (posted on Saturday), we had taunted Teerath Rana and Babita Phogat that how they were trying to use wrestlers for their selfishness and how when the wrestlers were in trouble, they went and sat on the lap of the government.

"We are definitely in trouble, but our sense of humour should not become so weak that we cannot even laugh at the jokes of the powerful," she added.

Rana, however, denied allegations that he had used the wrestlers for selfish motives.

"The wrestlers came and met me (before staging the protest) and they told us that they were being exploited. We said we are with our sisters and daughters. I am with the athletes in the fight for justice. I was there with them before and am now as well," added Rana.

It may be recalled that in April, Vinesh - one of the three top wrestlers leading the protest against Brij Bhushan - had also requested her cousin Babita "to not weaken our movement" by issuing contradictory statements on social media.

Satyawart, a heavy-weight wrestler, has said their fight is apolitical and not against the government.

"We are protesting for the last several months demanding the arrest of outgoing WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh because he has sexually harassed women wrestlers.

"A narrative is being created in public that our movement is politically motivated. Everyone knows that we initially came to the protest site at Jantar Matar in January and the permission for the protest was taken by two BJP leaders.

"We have proof of the permission taken from Jantar Mantar police station. It was taken by BJP leaders Teerth Rana and Babita Phogat," he said.

Rana denied having said that there would be violence if the wrestlers drowned their Olympic medals in river Ganga at Haridwar.

A day after police detained them for trying to march towards the new Parliament building on its inauguration day, the protesting wrestlers reached Haridwar to drown their medals but were persuaded not to do so amid chaotic scenes.

"Well, there was no such talk that it (drowning of medals) would lead to violence. There was anger among the sportspersons and they took a decision that they would drown their medals in river Ganga...but the country's sentiments were that the athletes should not take such a step," added Rana.

Meanwhile, the Wrestling Federation of India's much-awaited elections will take place on July 6. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) appointed retired high court judge Mahesh Mittal Kumar as the returning officer to set the poll process in motion.

Another big issue in the elections is whether family member or associates of outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will be allowed to contest elections.

Sports Minister Thakur had assured the wrestlers that the government will not allow any of Brij Bhushan's relatives to contest the polls.