Olympic wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress party on Friday, just ahead of the Haryana assembly elections. Let us tell you that Vinesh and Bajrang were among those who participated in the wrestlers’ protest along with Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik.
However, on the occasion of his joining the Congress, party general secretary KC Venugopal, party leader Pawan Khera, Haryana Congress chief Uday Bhan and AICC Haryana in-charge Deepak Babaria were present.
Vinesh Phogat said, “I thank the Congress party. It is said that in bad times we come to know who our own people are. When we were being dragged on the streets, all the parties except the BJP were with us. I am proud that I have joined a party that stands with women and is ready to fight from the streets to the Parliament.”
#WATCH Delhi | On joining Congress, Vinesh Phogat says, “I thank Congress party…I say that in bad times I find out who I am…When we were being dragged on the road, all parties except BJP were with us. I feel proud that I have joined a party which stands… pic.twitter.com/FIV1FLQeXa
— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2024
She further said, “The fight is on, it is not over yet. It is in the court. We will win that battle too. With the new platform we are getting today, we will work to serve the country. The way we have played our game with all our heart, we will give our best in working for our people. I want to tell my sisters that I am with them. If no one is there for you, I will be there, the Congress party will be there. I have felt this, and I can assure you that we will definitely be there.”
Bajrang Punia said, “What the BJP IT cell is saying today is that we only wanted to do politics. We had written a letter to all the female BJP MPs asking them to stand with us but they still did not come. We were enduring so much to raise the voice of women but now we know that BJP stands with the atrocities being committed on women and all other parties are standing with us. We will work hard to strengthen the Congress party and the country. The day Vinesh qualified for the finals, the whole country was happy but the next day everyone was sad. At that time an IT cell was celebrating.”
#WATCH Delhi | On joining Congress, Bajrang Punia says, “…What BJP IT Cell is saying today that we just wanted to do politics…We had written to all women BJP MPs to stand with us but they still didn’t come. We are paying to raise the voices of women but now we know that BJP… pic.twitter.com/FGViVeGJLY
— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2024
Let us tell you that before joining the Congress, on Friday, Olympian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia resigned from their posts in the Indian Railways. Vinesh confirmed on her official X handle that she has resigned from the Indian Railways.
“At this juncture of my life, I have decided to disassociate myself from the railway service and have submitted my resignation to the competent authorities of Indian Railways. I will always be grateful to the Indian Railways family for giving me this opportunity to serve the country,” Vinesh wrote on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Bajrang Punia also resigned from the Indian Railways on Friday. In his resignation, Bajrang said that he is grateful for the guidance of Northern Railways.
Bajrang wrote in his resignation letter, “I joined this prestigious service on 13 September 2014. I am grateful to Northern Railway for the guidance given to me in my professional career and I also express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who worked with me during my job in Northern Railway.”
He said, “I wish to resign from the post of OSD Sports in Northern Railway and request you to relieve me from this post. I have decided to resign due to personal reasons and circumstances at home. I have already informed you verbally about this.”
According to sources, Bajrang Punia will not contest the assembly elections, he may be appointed co-chairman of the Haryana Congress campaign committee for the Haryana assembly elections and Vinesh Phogat will contest the elections. Her seat will be finalized by evening.
It is worth noting that Vinesh was disqualified from the 50 kg gold medal match at the Paris Olympics as she was found to be 100 grams overweight. The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) also rejected her plea to be awarded the joint silver medal. On August 8, a day after being disqualified, she announced her retirement from wrestling.
