Rahul Gandhi Calls Brij Bhushan Singh As BJP's Baahubali, Criticizes PM Modi Over Wrestlers' Award Return

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday slammed the Narendra Modi government over continuous returns of National Awards. Reacting to the latest incident of Vinesh Phogat returning her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award, Congress leader called BJP's Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan, a Proclaimed Bahubali. Sharan has been accused of sexual harassment by several female wrestlers.

Sharing Vinesh Phogat's video that shows the wrestler marching toward the Prime Minister's Officer, Rahul Gandhi in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in Hindi said, "For every daughter of the country, self-respect comes first, any other medal or honor comes after that. Today, did the price of 'political benefits' received from a 'proclaimed Bahubali' exceed the tears of these brave daughters? The Prime Minister is the guardian of the nation, it hurts to see such cruelty on his part."

Earlier on Tuesday, the Olympian announced to return of national awards in an open letter to the Prime Minister, mentioning prestigious honours become meaningless at a time when wrestlers are struggling to get justice for months.

देश की हर बेटी के लिये आत्मसम्मान पहले है, अन्य कोई भी पदक या सम्मान उसके बाद।

आज क्या एक ‘घोषित बाहुबली’ से मिलने वाले ‘राजनीतिक फायदे’ की कीमत इन बहादुर बेटियों के आंसुओं से अधिक हो गई?

प्रधानमंत्री राष्ट्र का अभिभावक होता है, उसकी ऐसी निष्ठुरता देख पीड़ा होती है। pic.twitter.com/XpoU6mY1w9

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 31, 2023

Today, when Vinesh Phogat tried to meet Prime Minister Modi, she was stopped by the Delhi Police at Kartayapath, so she kept her awards on the road with honor.

Seeking justice and strict action against former WFI chief Sharan, wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, and Bajrang Punia have been protesting for months. Before Vinesh, Bajaran Punia returned his Arjuna award, after which, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs suspended the newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India body led by President Sanjay Singh, a close aide to Brij Bhushan Singh Sharan, over a breach of the code of conduct for WFI funciton.

The Sports Ministry also formed an ad hoc committee under the eye of the Indian Olympic Association to take care of the smooth functioning of the sports body.