Bajrang Punia, one of India’s top-ranked professional wrestler, on Friday declared that he would return his Padma Shri award after the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president’s aide Brij Bhushan Singh was elected President of the Federation. Punia placed the award on a sidewalk near Kartavya path in central Delhi.
The Olympic medalist had earlier posted on social media platform X (previously Twitter) that he would be returning the Padma Shri as a form of protest. The statement comes a day after the wrestler Sakshi Malik gave a tearful press conference in which she announced her retirement from wrestling.
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“As I have said earlier we were fighting for our daughters and sisters. I could not get justice for them. Due to this, I think I do not deserve this honour. I came here to return my award, However, I could not meet with PM because I didn’t have an appointment. PM has a busy schedule. So I am putting my award on the letter written to PM. I will not take this medal to my home,” Bajrang Punia told reporters.
The police personnel picked up both the letter and the Padma Shri medal. Punia also claimed that the government did not fulfill its promise to the wrestlers during the strike.
“We are not fighting against the government. The government failed to fulfil their promises and statements. We have already stated that Brij Bhushan is a powerful man and people who work under him are everywhere,” Punia added.
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