Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday shared pictures from his visit to the Virendra Akhara
in the Chhara village of Haryana during which he wrestled with Olympic medalist Bajrang
Punia. The Congress leader shared multiple pictures on the micro-blogging site, with a caption
hinting at the ongoing row over the election and the subsequent suspension of the Wrestling
Federation of India (WFI) by the Sports Ministry.
The pictures showed Rahul Gandhi and Bajrang Punia practising wrestling on a mat with several
people watching them. Both were all smiles in the photos.
"There is only one question - if these players, the daughters of India, have to leave the fight in
their arena and fight for their rights and justice on the streets, then who will encourage their
children to choose this path? These are innocent, straightforward and simple people from farmer
families. Let them serve the tricolour. Let them make India proud with full honour and respect,"
the Congress MP wrote on X.
During his visit to Virendra Akhara, Rahul Gandhi met Bajrang Punia and Deepak Punia, along
with other wrestlers. Deepak Punia won the Gold medal in the 2022 Birmingham
Commonwealth Games. Both wrestlers started their wrestling at the Virendra Akhara.
Talking to the media after Rahul Gandhi's visit, Deepak Punia said that the Congress MP came to
see the day-to-day activities of a wrestler. "He came to see how the daily life of a wrestler goes.
He wrestled and exercised with me. He also made videos of his visit to the arena," Bajrang Punia
told India Today.
Rahul Gandhi's visit came after the suspension of the newly-elected body of the Wrestling
Federation of India (WFI) by the Sports Ministry on Sunday (December 24). Union Sports
Minister Anurag Thakur has written to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to form an ad hoc
committee to oversee WFI affairs till the time the suspension lasts.
The Sports Ministry suspended the WFI only three days after the election of its office bearers in
a strongly-worded letter, in which it stated that the new office bearers were still under the
influence of those formerly in charge of the federation under ex-chief Brij Bhushan, who has
been accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers.
(With inputs from agencies)