Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers' protest against then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, entered the political arena on Friday by joining the Congress with a vow of "not being scared or backing off". In an exclusive interview with India TV wrestler Bajrang Punia praised the Congress' organisational structure and also invited Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to Haryana.
"The battle we fought to date was on the streets. Now, it is time to raise that fight in the Assembly and Lok Sabha... this is why we entered politics. It was already decided that only one would contest the election. Vinesh will contest the elections, I will be in the organisation," he said. Hours after joining the Congress, Punia was appointed the working chairman of All India Kisan Congress by the party.
Why Congress?
There has been a wide-spread criticism of both the wrestlers for joining Congress. To which, the Bajrang said, "This party supported us in difficult times... That's why we chose Congress. When we were fighting against Braj Bhushan, we wrote letters to everyone. But no one came from the BJP."
On Brij Bhushan
"Brij Bhushan should also be given the right to campaign in Haryana and see how people welcome him. He is a political player, so he will divide everything on caste lines... between Haryana and UP. He tried to divide wrestling every way, but never succeeded. Sometimes he called us traitors, sometimes he called us Khalistani, so he is a political player, playing according to his own will. If BJP had not supported him or he had been a leader of some other party, would he have survived till today?" Punia and Phogat were part of the protest over sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Singh in 2023.
Punia said, "We have no differences with Bhupendra Hooda, he is our leader and will strengthen us more. I will work hard for Congress in the entire country. We will form government by winning 65 to 70 seats in Haryana."
