
'If WFI chief not arrested, farmers will take wrestlers to Jantar Mantar on June 9
Press Trust of India
Kurukshetra (Haryana): A "khap mahapanchayat" held here on Friday demanded the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and said if the demand is not met, farmers will take the protesting wrestlers to Delhi's Jantar Mantar on June 9.
The Delhi Police cleared the site of the wrestlers' over-month-long sit-in at Jantar Mantar on May 28 and detained them after a scuffle with security personnel who tried to stop them from marching to the new Parliament building as it was being inaugurated.
Subsequently, wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia along with other protesters were booked for rioting and obstructing public servant in discharge of duty. The "khap maha - panchayat" deliberated on the next steps to be taken in the agitation pertaining to the wrestlers' issue and set the deadline of June 9 for the government to act on its demand.
Talking to reporters after the "mahapanchayat", Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said WFI chief Singh, who has been accused of sexually harassing some women wrestlers, should be arrested and the cases against the wrestlers registered recently should be withdrawn. He said if the government does not act on the demands, the agitation will be intensified by holding panchayats across the country. "Arrest (of WFI chief) and withdrawal of cases (against the wrestlers) will be first priority," he said.
"They (govt) should resolve this matter by way of talks. He (WFI chief) must be arrested, otherwise we shall take these children (wrestlers) to Jantar Mantar on June 9. That is the decision that we have taken (in the mahapanchayat)... Otherwise, we shall hold panchayats across the country," he said. Tikait said they shall also meet the home minister and the government and added all khaps are united on this.
Representatives of various khaps and farmers' outfits reached the Jat Dharamshala here from different places, including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Farmer outfits had held a "khap mahapanchayat" in Uttar Pradesh and a series of protests in Punjab and Haryana on Thursday, showing solidarity with the wrestlers who have accused Singh of sexually harassing female grapplers, including a minor.
"Today is June 2. The government has time till June 9. They can opt for the path of holding talks. We have also spoken with the wrestlers, they are totally demoralised. We would not compromise on anything less than his arrest. The country and the society will not accept anything less than (WFI chief's) arrest. "And till his arrest, if anything untoward happens with these children (wrestlers), it would be his responsibility...their (wrestlers') families are also terrified, they are getting threat calls," he said.