'PM Meets Only When They Win Medals': Priyanka Gandhi, Kejriwal Back Wrestlers

Earlier on Saturday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi had joined the protest and made scathing remarks against BJP.

Arvind Kejriwal at Jantar Mantar.

(Photo: PTI)

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal joined the wrestlers' protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, 29 April.

"The wrestlers of our country, who brought glory to India in front of the entire world, have been protesting at Jantar Mantar for the past week. Why? Because a big leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has wronged them," he said at Jantar Mantar.

"If anyone wrongs any woman in country, they deserve to be punished. But it's sad that these women, they're not ordinary women, they made our country proud..." Kejriwal added.

Arvind Kejriwal at Jantar Mantar.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Earlier on Saturday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the protests by wrestlers, alleging that the PM only meets Olympians when the win medals for the country.

Vadra met the wrestlers protesting over sexual harassment allegations against sidelined Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

What Priyanka Gandhi said: Addressing the media at the protest site in Delhi's Jantar Mantar, she said: "I don't expect anything from the Prime Minister. Why doesn't he invite them over and talk about the matter? When they won medals, he met them for tea, right? These are our daughters."

"I don't understand why so many efforts are being made to protect one man (Brij Bhushan Sharan)? These are the girls that made our country proud. They have had to over come so many personal struggles. Rather than shielding them, why is that man being shielded?" she asked.

(Photo: PTI)

(Photo: PTI)

(Photo: PTI)

"We all know how committees function. Committees are formed only to sideline the issue. They want the complainants to talk to committees and keep that cycle going, that's what the government wants," Gandhi said.

"You see what happens in Uttar Pradesh. Whenever a woman faces atrocities, she has to struggle to get an FIR filed. Even if it is filed, she has to struggle to get n access to it. This is not something new. But these girls have shown the courage to speak up. Whether the PM, the ministers, or the government wants to accept it or not but the whole nation is standing by the wrestlers," she said.

The Delhi Police on Friday said that two FIRs, with one of them under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, have been registered in connection with the sexual harassment complaint filed by women wrestlers.

"The second FIR is registered for carrying out comprehensive investigations into the complaints tendered by other, adult complainants under relevant sections pertaining to outraging of modesty etc," the police said.

It added that investigations are being conducted in connection with both cases. Singh, meanwhile, addressed the media on Saturday to allege that the wrestlers have been renewing their demands and tweaking their "versions."

"Resignation is not a big deal but I am not a criminal," he said.