Bajrang Punia to return Padma Shri, writes to PM

New Delhi: There seems to be no end to controversies surrounding the Indian wrestling as Olympic medallist grappler Bajrang Punia on Friday decided to return his Padma Shri award in protest against the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist Sanjay Singh as the president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). 

On Thursday, Sanjay Singh was elected as the president of the WFI after the panel led by the close aide of Brij Bhushan won 13 of the 15 posts. The wrestlers had demanded that no close associate of Brij Bhushan should enter the WFI. "I am returning my Padma Shri award to the Prime Minister. This is just my letter. This is my statement," read a post shared by the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist wrestler on X, formerly Twitter.

Sakshi Malik, Bajrang and Vinesh Phogat had addressed a press conference after Sanjay's election in which Sakshi, a bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, announced that she would quit the sport as a mark of protest. Bajrang was conferred with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour in the country, in 2019 after a consistent run on the mat that saw him win laurels at top international events.

Bajrang also posted a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing the denial of justice to the country's female wrestlers. He posted the letter on X after making an attempt to meet the Prime Minister in Parliament and personally hand over his letter but was stopped at Kartavya Path by the Delhi Police.

The 29-year-old world championship medallist wrote: "Dear PM Ji, hope your health is well. You must be busy in many work but I am writing this to draw your attention to the wrestlers of the country. You must be aware that the women wrestlers of the country started a protest in January this year against Brij Bhushan Singh accusing him of sexual harassment. I too joined their protest. The protest stopped after the government promised strong action."

Expressing his disappointment, the star wrestler added, "But there was no FIR against Brij Bhushan even after three months. We again took to the streets in April so that the police at least file an FIR against him. There were 19 complainants in January but the number came down to 7 by April. This means Brij Bhushan exerted his influence on 12 women wrestlers.

The three top wrestlers -- Bajrang, Sakshi and Vinesh -- had launched an agitation against Brij Bhushan earlier this year, accusing him of sexually exploiting several women wrestlers.