NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH : In a boost for the Congress ahead of the Haryana assembly elections, star grapplers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia formally joined the party on Friday. Sources said the party has fielded Phogat from the Julana seat. While Punia will not enter the electoral fray, he has been appointed as the chairman of All India Kisan Congress.
The party also announced the first list of 32 candidates for the Haryana polls. Former chief minister and leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been fielded from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi and state congress president Udai Bhan from Hodal.
The first list was released after the party’s Central Election Committee met in Delhi. The meeting was attended by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, AICC Haryana in-charge Deepak Babaria and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, besides others.
The other candidates are Mewa Singh from Ladwa who will to take on Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Bharat Bhushan Batra from Rohtak, Chiranjeev Rao from Revari, Surender Panwar from Sonipat, Kuldeep Vats from Badli, Jagbir Singh Malik from Gohana and Neeraj Sharma from Faridabad NIT.
While sitting MLA Mamman Khan will contest fielded for the second time from Ferozepur Jhirka constituency, Geeta Bhukkal will fight from Jhajjar and Aftab Ahmed from Nuh.
In Delhi, Phogat lashed out at the BJP saying that party’s IT cell maligned her, while Congress stood with her during her tough times. Both Phogat and Punia were at the forefront of protests against the alleged sexual harassment by BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023.
“When we were dragged on the roads at Jantar Mantar, every party other than the BJP stood with us and understood our pain and our tears. I want to thank the Congress because, during bad times, we realise who stands with us,” she said.
The wrestler also said she is proud to be associated with the Congress party, which stands up for women. “We stand with every woman who finds herself helpless. I don’t want sportspersons to face what we went through,” Phogat said.
“I could have left wrestling at Jantar Mantar during the protests. The BJP tried to defame me and called me a spent force. But I reached the finals in Olympics. But God has other plans, he has now given me a chance to serve the people of my country,” she added.
When asked about the controversy around her disqualification ahead of the final match in the Paris Olympics, Phogat said that she would reveal the details later. “It is an emotional thing for me. I will talk in detail about it. Be patient, I will speak about it one day,” she said.
Both the wrestlers met Congress chief Kharge at his residence before joining the party. Venugopal called it a proud moment. “It is a big day for the Congress to induct the stalwarts into the party,” he said.
Accusing the Modi government of playing politics, Venugopal said Phogat received a show cause notice from her employer Railways, seeking an explanation on her contesting the polls. Addressing the media, Punia said the BJP IT cell celebrated when Phogat was disqualified from the Olympics. “Though we wrote to the BJP members, they did not join us in the protest against Brij Bhushan,” he said.
Phogat got Railways’ show-cause notice: Venugopal
Accusing the BJP government of playing politics, Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said that Vinesh Phogat received a show cause notice from her employer Railways. “She received the notice because the media flashed her pictures with LoP Rahul Gandhi. Is it a crime to stand with the LoP?” he asked. Hours before joining the Congress, Phogat resigned as an officer on special duty with the Northern Railways.
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