Don’t Want Any Honor Until Sisters and Daughters Get Justice: Bajrang on Taking Back PadmaShri

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 25th Dec. Olympic medallist Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia stated on Sunday that he will not accept back his Padma Shri award, which he returned to the government, until justice is served to his sisters and daughters who are fighting against harassment and their perpetrators.

Bajrang made this announcement in a tweet following recent protests by star wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Punia regarding the election of an aide of the deposed Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as the new president of the wrestling federation.

However, the Union Sports Ministry took action on Sunday by suspending the country’s premier governing body for sports, along with all its office-bearers.

हमें सिर्फ़ भगवान पर भरोसा है
मैंने अपना पद्मश्री सम्मान बहन-बेटियों के लिए वापस किया था, उनके सम्मान के लिए वापस किया था और जब तक उन्हें न्याय नहीं मिल जाता तब तक मुझे कोई सम्मान नहीं चाहिए.

जय हिंद”

— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) December 24, 2023

This decision was made shortly after the newly elected WFI president Sanjay Singh announced that the U-15 and U-20 nationals would be held in Nandini Nagar, in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, by the end of the year.

Additionally, the Union Sports Ministry instructed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to establish an ad-hoc committee to oversee and manage the affairs of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), according to a source from the ministry.

Earlier, Olympian Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling during an emotional press briefing, claiming that the government broke its promise to not appoint an aide of Brij Bhushan as an office-bearer of the wrestling federation.

Later, Bajrang Punia expressed his concerns about the election of Sanjay Singh as the new WFI chief and returned his Padma Shri as a form of protest. The star wrestlers had previously led a protest against Brij Bhushan, accusing him of harassment.

“This announcement is hasty, without giving sufficient notice to wrestlers who are to take part in the said nationals and without following the provisions of the WFI constitution. As per clause 3 (e) of the preamble of the constitution of the WFI, the object of the WFI, among others, is to arrange the holding of senior, junior and sub junior national championships as per UWW rules at places selected by the Executive Committee,” the Sports Ministry stated in a release on Sunday.

“Such decisions are to be taken by the Executive Committee, before which agendas are required to be placed for consideration. As per Article XI of the WFI constitution under the Heading ‘Notices and Quorum for Meetings’, the minimum notice period for EC meetings is 15 clear days and the quorum is of 1/3rd of representatives. Even for Emergency EC meetings, the minimum notice period is 7 clear days with a quorum requirement of 1/3rd of representatives,” the ministry added.

“Further, in terms of Article X (d) of the Constitution of WFI, it is the Secretary General of WFI, who has been made responsible for carrying out the general business of the Federation, keeping the minutes of the meetings, maintaining all the records of the Federation, and calling the meetings of the General Council and the Executive Committee. It seems the Secretary-General has not been involved in the said meeting of EC, which was held without any notice or quorum,” it stated further.

“The decisions made by the newly elected executive body of the WFI demonstrate a blatant disregard for the established legal and procedural norms, violating both the WFI’s constitutional provisions and the National Sports Development Code. The newly elected body appeared to be in complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard for the Sports Code. The business of the Federation is being run from the premises controlled by former office bearers,” the ministry added.