BJP leader Babita Phogat addressed that while reacting to accusations made by Olympic wrestler Sakshi Malik alleging protest against the former Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. On Wednesday, in a post on X (which used to be Twitter), Phogat seemed to point at Malik and hint that the accusations were inspired by Malik’s efforts to push her new book.
Babita Phogat wrote, “Stand out for your best ethics. Borrowed light is temporary; therefore, the question remains: how long will the borrowed light last?” She went on to insinuate that Malik’s accusations were motivated by jealousy and that some of them had not gained political power or opportunities. “And some were fortunate to get assembly seats, some got posts, sister, and you did not get anything; I can comprehend your agony. This line in the series shows that she bartered her integrity for the book to sell it,” said Phogat, who summed up alleged fabricated testimonies by Malik as self-serving.
Sakshi Malik, who was accompanied by the wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, separately fought the protest for a long-standing period against Singh for sexual harassment during his service. This high profile has not yet been decided definitively and has remained before a New Delhi court ever since, generating much coverage in the public domain.
Discussing the protest in her book Witness, Malik argued that Phogat, Punia, and Vinesh hurt the cause by accepting exemptions from trials for the Asian Games last year, referring to it as ‘selfish’. She said that externals started trying to make a division among the protesters and that those who had acquaintance with Bajrang and Vinesh were introducing greed into the wrestler’s body.
This ongoing conflict is an expression of conflict within the wrestling space, particularly as wrestlers are in torn between advancing their own individual interests and acting in impunity so as to seek justice. More allegations and responses keep coming as part of a bigger story with the wrestling federation.
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