Other opposition parties on Sunday also condemned the police action against the protesting wrestlers at Jantar Mantar here after they tried to march towards the new Parliament House building.
NEW DELHI – Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a scathing attack on the BJP government over the Delhi Police action against the protesting wrestlers on Sunday, saying that the “king is crushing the voice of the people on the streets”.
In a tweet in Hindi, he said: “The coronation is over – the ‘arrogant king’ is crushing the voice of the people on the streets!”, attaching a video of the manhandling of the protesting wrestlers by the Delhi Police.
The protesting wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, and Sangeeta Phogat, were detained by the Delhi Police when they tried to march towards the new Parliament House from the Jantar Mantar.
Police have also removed the tents from the protest site.
Since April 23, prominent Indian wrestlers such as Punia, Malik, and Vinesh have been staging a protest at the Jantar Mantar against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
Earlier in the day, Gandhi also took a jibe at the government dubbing Parliament as the voice of the people and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inaugurating the new Parliament House, saying that he is considering the inauguration as a coronation.
The Congress and other other opposition parties on Sunday also condemned the police action against the protesting wrestlers at Jantar Mantar here after they tried to march towards the new Parliament House building.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the Modi government saying that the arrogance of BJP government has increased so much that it is trampling voices of women players under their boots.
In a tweet in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi said, “The medals on the chest of the players are the pride of our country. With those medals, due to the hard work of the sportspersons, the honor of the country increases. The arrogance of the BJP government has increased so much that the government is mercilessly trampling the voices of our women players under their boots. This is totally wrong. The whole country is watching the arrogance of the government and this injustice.”
She also attached the pictures of star wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat battling with police at Jantar Mantar.
Meanwhile, the Congress from its Twitter handle took a jibe at the government by deleting the word Lok from Loktantra (Democracy).
The Congress tweeted the picture of Vinesh Phogat and Sangeeta Phogat holding each other while remaining on the ground when the police tried to detain them.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore also slammed the government saying, “Police brutality on protesting female wrestlers. Sad how daughters are treated by Modi police. Condemn the police brutality.”
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal also slammed the government over the police action against the wrestlers.
In a tweet Kejriwal said, “Such behavior with our sportspersons who bring laurels to the country is very wrong and condemnable.”
Their remarks came after the Delhi Police detained Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh and Sangeeta here at Jantar Mantar on Sunday after they along with their supporters jumped over the police barricades and tried to march towards the newly constructed Parliament building. Police have also removed the tents from the protest site.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) faction Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also lambasted the BJP over the police action, saying the government has shamed itself. In a tweet she said, “World champions. India’s daughters. Fighting for their honour. The MP continues to be protected. The GoI shames itself.”
She also attached the photograph of the police action against the wrestlers.
Mahila Congress acting chief Netta D’Souza also said that these pictures are clearly telling how the dignity of women has been protected in the last nine years of Modi regime. “To suppress the voice of the daughters of the country, today the Modi government has crossed all limits of meanness. The government giving the slogan of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is putting the daughters in jail while the guilty BJP MP Brij Bhushan is sitting in the new Parliament House as the apple of Modi and (Amit) Shah’s eye,” she said.
The wrestlers had announced to hold a panchayat near the new Parliament House. Since April 23, prominent Indian wrestlers such as Punia, Malik, and Vinesh have been staging a protest at the Jantar Mantar against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. -IANS
