The drama regarding the Wrestling Federation of India’s election does not seem to end. Much to the wrestlers’ dislike, former WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s close aide Sanjay Singh won the delayed election on Thursday. The result prompted wrestler Sakshi Malik to announce her retirement. Another protesting wrestler Bajrang Punia on Friday announced he will be returning the Padma Shri award in protest. Now, sources in the Sports Ministry have come up with a reaction to Bajrang Punia’s announcement.
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There was a lot of interest regarding the WFI election. Former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by women wrestlers, leading to his resignation. However, in the ensuing election on Thursday, Brij Bhushan-backed candidate Sanjay Singh won by a comfortable margin, leading to some hard reactions from the wrestlers. Sakshi Malik announced her retirement on Thursday. Bajrang Punia went a step ahead and announced to return the Padma Shri in a letter addressed to PM Narendra Modi on Friday.
“I am returning my Padmashree award to the Prime Minister. This is just my letter to say. This is my statement,” Bajrang Punia said in a tweet.
News agency PTI soon after released a reaction from the Sports Ministry on Punia’s announcement. The Sports Ministry source claimed that the decision to return the Padma Shri was Punia’s personal choice. The source also claimed the WFI election was held in a fair manner.
“It is Bajrang Punia’s personal decision to return Padma Shri. The WFI polls were held in fair and democratic manner,” PTI quoted a Sports Ministry source as saying.
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