'Don't Politicise': CPI(M) Leader Brinda Karat Asked to Step Off Stage at Wrestlers' Jantar Mantar Protest

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat, who arrived at the protest staged by top Indian wrestlers at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, was asked to step off the stage by the grapplers, who said they didn’t want anyone to politicise it.

In a video shared by news agency ANI, the CPI(M) leader was requested to leave the stage by Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia. “We request you, madam, please don’t make this political,” Punia said.

“You are requested to sit in front of the stage. Madam, you are requested, please come down from the stage. Don’t make it a political issue…this is a wrestlers’ protest,” Punia can be heard saying in the video.

The protest by Indian wrestlers including three-time CWG champion Vinesh Phogat and the Olympic bronze medallist duo of Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, entered its second day on Thursday as they demanded action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who has been accused of sexual harassment.

Tokyo Olympics silver winner Ravi Dahiya and world championship silver medallist Deepak Punia also joined the protest along with several others in a show of strength.

On Wednesday, Vinesh Phogat had claimed that the WFI chief has been sexually exploiting women wrestlers for many years, a charge that the sports administrator and BJP MP has vehemently denied.

She also alleged that several coaches at the national camp in Lucknow have also exploited women wrestlers.

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