Bajrang Punia returns Padma Shri award after Brij Bhushan's aide wins WFI election

Bajrang Punia on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi returning his Padma Shri award. The development comes a day after Sakshi Malik retired from wrestling after BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s close aide Sanjay Singh won the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) election. “I am returning my Padmashree award to the Prime Minister. This is just my letter to announce that. This is my statement,” Bajrang Punia wrote on X (formerly X).

मैं अपना पद्मश्री पुरस्कार प्रधानमंत्री जी को वापस लौटा रहा हूँ. कहने के लिए बस मेरा यह पत्र है. यही मेरी स्टेटमेंट है। 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/PYfA9KhUg9

— Bajrang Punia 🇮🇳 (@BajrangPunia) December 22, 2023

Sakshi and Bajrang had been the faces of the protests against Brij Bhushan who has been accused of sexual harassment. India’s Olympic medal winners and top wrestlers had protested to get former president Brij Bhushan removed from the federation. However, Sanjay Singh who won the WFI election on 21 December is considered a close aide of the politician. “Dear PM Ji, hope your health is well. You must be busy in many work but I am writing this to draw your attention to the wrestlers of the country. You must be aware that the women wrestlers of the country started a protest in January this year against Brij Bhushan Singh accusing him of sexual harassment. I too joined their protest. The protest stopped after the government promised strong action,” wrote Punia in the letter. “But there was no FIR against Brij Bhushan even after three months. We again took to the streets in April so that the police at least file an FIR against him. There were 19 complainants in January but the number came down to 7 by April. This means Brij Bhushan exerted his influence on 12 women wrestlers,” he added in the letter. “Our protest went on for 40 days. There was much pressure on us during those days…We went to immerse our medals to the Ganga River. Then we were stopped by farmer leaders. At that time a responsible minister from your cabinet called us up and assured us of justice. Meanwhile, we met Union home minister Amit Shah who too promised us of justice. We stopped our protest,” he explained in the letter. “But in the election of the WFI on December 21, the federation came under Brij Bhushan once again. He himself said he would prevail over the federation like he did always. Coming under tremendous pressure, Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling. We all spent the night in tears. We did not understand what to do, or where to go. The government has given us a lot. I was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2019. I also received the Arjuna, Khel Ratna award. When I got these awards, I was on cloud nine. But today the sadness weighs more. And the reason is a woman wrestler left the sport because of her security. “Sports have empowered our women athletes, changed their lives. All credit to the first-generation women athletes. The situation is such that the women who could have been the brand ambassadors of beti bachao, beti padhao are now taking back their steps in their sports. And we ‘awarded’ wrestlers could not do anything. I can’t live my life as a Padma Shri awardee while our women wrestlers are insulted. Hence I return my award to you,” he concluded in the letter.