Priyanka Gandhi meets wrestler Sakshi Malik, assures of support for fight in justice

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday, 22 December, met Olympian wrestler Sakshi Malik to express her solidarity and assured her of her support in every way in her fight for justice.

Priyanka Gandhi arrived at the residence of Malik and met her and other wrestlers.

Assuring Malik of her support in every way in the fight for justice, she also said that the women players, who have brought glory to the country across the world, accused BJP MP and then WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment, but the BJP government did not take any action against him, and on the contrary, the victims were tortured in various ways.

"The BJP is still standing with the accused and is rewarding him in every way. The women of the country are watching these atrocities," Priyanka Gandhi said.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, slamming the BJP, said: "The insult to players like Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik is not just an insult to them but to the entire country.

"It is shameful that the players who have raised India's prestige in the world are helpless in front of their own government. The Prime Minister should at least have given up his ego in this matter and assured justice to the players who made the country proud. But the Prime Minister and BJP are with the accused of sexual exploitation. The country stands with its champions.”

Earlier in the day, Punia announced the return of his Padma Shree award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Thursday, Malik, the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist Malik, announced quitting wrestling following Sanjay Singh, an aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, being elected as President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

Malik removed her shoes and put it on the dais before leaving the press conference in tears here. "I am dejected, and I will not be competing in wrestling anymore," an emotional Malik said.