Wrestlers have been on potest since January.
New Delhi:
A woman should head India’s wrestling federation, the wrestlers who have been protesting against its current chief, who is accused of sexual harassment, told Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday at a meeting where they listed five demands.
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Bajrang Punia and Sakshee Malikkh held talks today with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his home after his late-night invite on Twitter.
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It was the second meeting between the wrestlers and the government in five days. The wrestlers met with Home Minister Amit Shah late on Saturday over their demand for action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by seven women wrestlers.
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The wrestlers made five demands to the minister, including free and fair elections to the Wrestling Federation of India and the appointment of a woman chief. They also said Brij Bhushan Singh or his family members cannot be part of the WFI.
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The wrestlers also want a police case filed against them over their protest last month on the day India’s new parliament building was inaugurated be scrapped. They have reiterated their demand for the arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh.
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Vinesh Phogat, a prominent face of the protest, is not attending the meeting as she is in her village Balali in Haryana to attend a pre-scheduled ‘panchayat’.
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“The government is willing to have a discussion with the wrestlers on their issues. I have once again invited the wrestlers for the same,” Mr Thakur had tweeted at 12:47 am last night, in an effort to end the deadlock with the wrestlers.
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The wrestlers, who had launched their campaign against Brij Bhushan Singh in January and were assured of a probe, had resumed their protest on April 23 at Jantar Mantar, claiming that underage girls had been harassed by Mr Singh and demanding his immediate arrest.
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They were removed from the protest site on May 28 and the police detained them after they began their march to the new parliament building without permission.
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While the government is willing to accept most of their demands, the arrest of Mr Singh, who is also a BJP MP, remains the bone of contention, news agency PTI reported.
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The wrestlers had also resumed their duties with the Northern Railways, last week. Mr Punia and Ms Malikkh work as special officers for the railways.
