P T Usha Is Wrong, Wrestlers Hit The Streets After Their Complaint Was Suppressed
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-04-28 15:15:30
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
It is surprising and extremely distressing that iconic former athlete P T Usha, who is an inspiration for budding sportspersons in the country and who is currently the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), has criticized the wrestlers who are agitating against Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Saran Singh who they have accused of sexually harassing a number of female wrestlers. Usha said that by hitting the streets, the top wrestlers have brought disrepute to the country. She has argued that they should have approached the IOA instead for a solution to their problem.
It is sad that having enjoyed the fruits of office as the head of IOA, P T Usha is fraternizing with fellow heads of sporting associations instead of supporting the sportspersons. Usha was a former athlete who had run-ins with the administration during her heydays. She is aware how sporting associations work and how the voice of athletes is suppressed, more so if the president of the body is a powerful leader of the ruling party, as B B S Singh is. As a former athlete, she must be aware that the wrestlers have hit the streets after exhausting all avenues (except perhaps approaching the IOA) of internal complaints. Their agitation is going on for long. Did P T Usha, as IOA president, inquire over the matter from the WFI or the internationally-renowned wrestlers who were leading the agitation? Was it not her duty to find out why top wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik were staking their careers to be on the road in support of fellow wrestlers who had been allegedly molested and sexually harassed by B B S Singh?
When the wrestlers approached the Supreme Court to get an FIR registered against Singh and when the court asked Delhi Police why it had not done so till now, the police said (on Tuesday) they needed to conduct a preliminary inquiry before filing the FIR. If the agitation was going on for more than one month, why was the inquiry not completed? Then, surprisingly, on Thursday the Delhi Police told the court it was ready to file an FIR. Will it always need the intervention of the Supreme Court to get FIRs registered against powerful ruling party leaders accused of crimes against women?
If P T Usha is not aware of the case then she should make the effort to speak to the wrestlers before commenting. And if she is under any kind of pressure from politicians, she should have supported the wrestlers instead of criticizing them, even if meant resigning from her post.
