Wrestlers bank on mahapanchayat & candle light support; government says spent Rs 2.58 cr on Bajrang Punia & Rs 2.16 cr on Vinesh Phogat in last 5 years – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The group of wrestlers who are demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) sidelined president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh have appealed for calm and peace ahead of the khap mahapanchayat scheduled at Jantar Mantar here on Sunday. The wrestlers are hoping more people will come and join their fight against the BJP-strongman and six-time Lok Sabha MP accused of sexually harassing the country’s women grapplers.
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About 2000 people are expected on Sunday, with the wrestlers taking down the old structure at the protest site and replacing it with a bigger tent in preparation for a mass gathering.
Top wrestlers including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshee Malikkh, who are protesting for the last two weeks against Singh, have called upon citizens to come out with a candlelight march at 7 pm on Sunday in their respective cities.

“Today is the 14th day of our sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar. The fact is you guys (supporters) are here and we are here too. We would like to thank all who are sitting with us here and supporting us. We would like to thank the entire country for standing with us in this fight for justice,” said reigning Asian Games and CWG champion Vinesh on Saturday.
“We hope we will achieve success in this fight so that truth prevails. Tomorrow, a lot of people are expected to join us from villages… khap panchayats, farmers and mazdoor unions, student organisations. We appeal to everyone to be peaceful. Our success depends on a peaceful demonstration. We also request all who will come tomorrow to cooperate with authorities and police,” she added.

Bajrang, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, has appealed to countrymen to observe a candlelight march to show solidarity with the protesting wrestlers. “We request all Indians to come out with a candlelight march at 7 pm on May 7. We also request the police not to stop our supporters tomorrow,” he said.
Another Olympic medallist, Sakshee, demanded Delhi police record the victims’ statement under Sec 164 of the CrPC before the magistrate. “All statements have been recorded under Sec 161. We’re waiting for statements to be recorded under Sec 164. We’ve been told that Delhi police have been given a deadline to record statements.”

Meanwhile, the government has reacted sharply to the protesting wrestlers’ threat to return their international medals and government awards.
According to officials, the government has spent over Rs 150 crore out of the taxpayers’ money on wrestling in the last five years, providing them the training, infrastructure and exposure trips support. The wrestlers were sent to foreign countries for coaching with the experts, spending around Rs 63 crore.

“For technologically advanced equipment and specialised training, the government spent Rs 2.5 crore. On top of that, the out-of-pocket allowances were given to them totalling Rs 15 crore. Apart from that, Rs 35 crore were spent on domestic training; Rs 25 crore on national coaching; Rs 7 crore on specialised support and Rs 2 crore on national championships. As far as personal expenses are concerned, the government spent Rs 2.58 crore on Bajrang Punia and Rs 2.16 crore on Vinesh Phogat,” the officials said.