Babita forced us to sit on dharna and then backstabbed, alleges grappler

"Forget others, we got ditched by our own sister Babita Phogat," alleged one wrestler, who is protesting against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at the Jantar Mantar here.

"She first forced us to sit on dharna, asked us that no political leader should come on dais. We listened to her every command and asked all the political leaders to not come meet us, but then she (Babita) politicised everything for her personal benefits and backstabbed us and left us here alone" the wrestler told IANS on condition of anonymity.

"That was the most disheartening part of our fight for justice. But we know that the entire nation is with us, our truth is with us."

Earlier, two-time world champion Vinesh Phogat had lashed out at her cousin and BJP leader Babita after the wrestlers returned for a second sit-in protest at the Jantar Mantar.

"Babita is more worried about her political career than the cause of the wrestlers," Vinesh had said.

In January, Babita had played the meditator's role when the wrestlers first staged a sit-in protest at the Jantar Mantar.

The government had formed the oversight committee, headed by legendary boxer MC Mary Kom, to look into the allegations levelled by the wrestlers, including Vinesh, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia.

Others in the panel included former wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former shuttler Trupti Murgunde, Radhica and Rajesh Rajagopalan, former CEO of Target Olympic Podium Scheme.

Babita was later included in the government's probe panel to investigate the allegations on the insistence of protesting wrestlers.

The panel submitted its report on April 5.

As per media reports, Brij Bhushan got a "clean chit" from the panel.

However, the latest protest by wrestlers can force the government to rethink on the matter and announce the decision soon to resolve the issue.

--IANS

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