Agitating wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Mallick, along with a group of coaches and others, held a two-hour meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday evening, according to sources close to them. The home minister’s office refused to confirm the impromptu meeting, which provoked the ire of the khaps, who raised lathis for the agitating wrestlers and appeared to be preparing for a protracted confrontation.
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Wrestlers Sakshee Malikkh, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat rejoin govt duties, but insist protest not withdrawn
,to arrest Only according to legal process’
The wrestlers’ camp said Shah was not agreeing to their main demand of immediate arrest of BJP MP Singh for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor wrestler. But they didn’t seem displeased with the HM’s reported response to their other demands: appointing a separate chairperson for women wrestlers, withdrawing FIRs against wrestlers who protested for breaking the prohibitory orders on May 28, and brij Bhushan’s family and relatives Debar from contesting upcoming Wrestling Federation elections.
Significantly, the deliberations took place in the wake of Punia, Mallick and the third member of the trio, Vinesh Phogat, resuming their duties as railway ministry officials: something that was not in keeping with their confrontational posture.
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Wrestler Sakshi Malik resumes official work after meeting Amit Shah
But while there were signs of relenting, both sides stuck to the issue of the wrestlers’ demand for Singh’s arrest.
Sources close to him claimed that Shah told him that the arrest would be done as per the law and as per the legal process. The minister, claimed to be from the wrestlers’ camp, suggested handing over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or sending the case to a fast-track court if he was not happy with the probe being conducted by the Delhi Police.
According to the wrestlers, Shah agreed to withdraw the FIR against the wrestlers and their supporters who were detained while trying to march towards the new Parliament building on 28 May. A woman officer will be appointed in the new federation to look after the affairs of elections, and women’s wrestling. However, Bajrang and Sakshi stuck to their demand for Singh’s arrest as a pre-condition to end their more than a month-long agitation. Besides the pair, the meeting was attended by Sakshi’s husband Satyavrat Kadian and some wrestling coaches. It is not known why Vinesh Phogat did not hold the meeting.
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Wrestlers Sakshee Malikkh, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat rejoin govt duties, but insist protest not withdrawn
Kadian later told reporters that “the meeting was unsuccessful and inconclusive”.
This was the second high-level talks the protest group held with the ruling dispensation. On May 27, BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana Kartikeya Sharma met the wrestlers at Jantar Mantar. counter site to persuade them to withdraw their protest.
Meanwhile, Bajrang, Vinesh and Sakshi resumed their duties as Officers on Special Duty (OSD) after a show-cause was conducted by Northern Railway on May 27. It is learned that Bajrang and Vinesh joined their stations on May 30, while Sakshi reported to the Northern Railway Headquarters at Baroda House on May 31.
The development comes a day after the trio decided not to immerse their international medals in the Ganga in Haridwar.
Sakshi on Monday confirmed the news of her return to work but denied “rumours” that she has withdrawn from the movement. “The news is completely false. None of us has backed down. We will continue our fight for justice, but at the same time I will also fulfill my responsibility as a railway employee.
Later, Bajrang, Vinesh and Sakshi put out a similar tweet, saying, “Those who told us our medals are worth Rs 15 are now after our jobs. Our life is at stake, in front of that the job is a very small thing. If the job is seen to be an obstacle in the path of justice, then it will not take us even ten seconds to leave it. Don’t show us the fear of jobs,” he tweeted in Hindi.
However, his latest move raised doubts in some quarters over the trajectory the protest was taking. Furthermore, Khap panchayats and farmers’ unions in western Uttar Pradesh distanced themselves from the movement after the wrestlers’ meeting with the home minister.
In another development, it has been learned that the protesting women wrestlers have approached senior Supreme Court lawyer Rebecca Mammen John to represent the complainants in the further legal battle.
The wrestlers recently had a meeting with John, who works primarily in the area of criminal defense. The wrestlers were earlier represented by advocate Narendra Hooda, who confirmed to TOI on Monday that he is no longer representing the wrestlers in the matter.