NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Olympic wrestler Bajrang Punia made the decision on Friday to return the Padma Shri award in protest of Sanjay Singh’s (a supporter of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh) election to the presidency of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). “I’m giving the Prime Minister my Padmashree back. This letter is all I have to say. This is my statement,” the bronze-winning wrestler from the Tokyo Olympics wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. On Thursday, Sanjay was chosen as the WFI president, with the panel headed by Brij Bhushan’s close aide taking 13 of the 15 positions.Following Sanjay’s election, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang, and Vinesh Phogat spoke at a press conference where Sakshi—who won a bronze medal in Rio in 2016—announced her decision to resign from the sport in protest. “Dear PM Ji, hope your health is well,” Bajrang wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I know you have a lot on your plate, but I wanted to take a moment to write to you about the wrestlers in our nation.You must be aware that the nation’s female wrestlers began a protest against Brij Bhushan Singh in January of this year, claiming that he had harassed them sexually. I joined them in protest as well. After the government promised tough action, the protest ended.The well-known wrestler continued, “But even after three months, there was no FIR against Brij Bhushan,” expressing his disappointment. In April, we protested on the streets once more to force the police to at least register a formal complaint against him.By April, there were only 7 complainants remaining from the 19 in January. Therefore, it can be said that Brij Bhushan influenced twelve female wrestlers. When Bajrang attempted to travel to the Parliament to meet with PM Modi and deliver his letter of protest against Sanjay Singh’s election, he was stopped by Delhi Police officials at the Kartavya Path.“No, I don’t have authorization. I am unable to enter, so if you could please forward this letter to the PMs. When Delhi Police officers stopped Bajrang, he said, “I’m not being aggressive or protesting.
