Only one month is left for the voting for the assembly elections in Haryana. On Wednesday, Haryana wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia reached the residence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Rahul posted their picture on social media. Obviously, this was a message from the Congress that both of them can join the Congress soon. Those who understand Haryana’s politics know that this is going to be very costly for the BJP in the assembly elections. It has become difficult to compensate for the loss due to the short-sightedness shown by the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party on the issues of women wrestlers.
Vinesh has become the voice of opposition to BJP by fighting against the then WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for sexual harassment of women wrestlers. There will be many issues in the Haryana elections, but the issue on which Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are active can overshadow all the issues. The way Vinesh lost the medals after getting success in the Olympics, there is tremendous sympathy for her among the common people. With Vinesh entering the political arena, it is clear that the Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh controversy will again be discussed in every street and square. Which can also prove to be a game changer for the election results. Vinesh is sure to play the victim card. Which will further strengthen the anger of farmers, anger of Jats etc. against the current government. Now the question arises whether the Bharatiya Janata Party was not understanding this. The answer to this question is only this that if BJP had shown a little promptness, then today Congress would not have been in a position to take advantage of it.
In Haryana, Jats, farmers and sports are all entangled with each other
Haryana is leading in sports in the entire country today. About 87 percent of the total medals won by the country in the Olympics are from Haryana alone. The special thing is that most of the medals won by Haryana are won by players from the Jat community. Barring a few Punjabis of Haryana, it is rarely heard of any Brahmin-Bania or people from any other community winning medals. In fact, the Jat community has made sports a home industry.
Similarly, in Haryana, the words farmer and Jat are synonymous with each other. Perhaps this is the reason why critics of the farmers’ movement call it a movement of Sikhs and Jats. Thinking all this, Vinesh Phogat recently met protesters at Shambhu border, Khap Panchayat leaders in Jind and Rohtak. In a program organized in Jind on August 27, Vinesh said that ‘she is under pressure to enter politics, but she will consult her elders before taking any decision. She said, there is pressure to enter politics, but I will consult my elders. When my mind is clear, then I will think what to do, because I am still in deep shock. ‘ It is clear that complete homework has been done before entering politics. It is obvious that if Vinesh campaigns on behalf of Congress, then she will not only unite the Jats of Haryana but will also be successful in uniting the anti-BJP votes.
The government itself allowed the issue of women wrestlers to become so big
The question is that if women wrestlers talked about sexual harassment, then who let it become a mountain out of a molehill? The answer is simple, the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership took it very lightly from the beginning. Later, when the matter escalated, an attempt was made to make it a Jat and anti-Jat issue, Haryana versus other states. But no attempt was successful and Vinesh became the star of this campaign. In any country, those who win Olympic medals are looked upon with great respect. In India, only a handful of medals have come so far. Therefore, there should be more respect here.
Vinesh did not have an Olympic medal during the protest, but Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia are Olympic medalists. If two great players of the country were coming out on the streets and making serious allegations like sexual harassment against a leader, the government was not bothered at all. The entire system was busy proving that all this was happening due to political reasons. If this protest was happening due to political reasons, then the BJP government should have handled this matter in a better way. But the people sitting in the government and the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party were busy proving that the Congress was instigating these players. Arguments were also being found to prove mafia turned politicians like Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh right.
Action was taken against Brajbhushan Sharan but it was delayed so much that it was meaningless. It seemed as if he was given a safe passage. Delhi Police filed an FIR against Brajbhushan Sharan Singh and also summoned him for investigation but all this was happening as if the government was doing it reluctantly. Can any common man or any ordinary MP even think that a case of sexual harassment of a woman is registered and the person is not arrested? It is worth noting that Brajbhushan has not been arrested till date.
BJP has made dozens of leaders like Brajbhushan a history
Many people will be found saying that parties have to win elections, so they do not take action against people like Brajbhushan Sharan Singh. But is it not true that people more powerful than Brajbhushan Sharan Singh have been sidelined in BJP. There is no need to go far, there are many such leaders in Haryana itself who have influence on at least half a dozen assembly seats to which the party has not given any importance for many years. Still they are still in the party. The party could have shown the way out to Brajbhushan as well. If not, then at least it could have done so on foot. In Uttar Pradesh also, the party sent so many powerful leaders to the guardian board or sidelined them, what difference did it make? In UP, votes are received only in the name of Yogi and Modi. By not giving ticket to Brajbhushan Sharan Singh in Uttar Pradesh, by making his son Karanbhushan Sharan Singh a candidate, the party has shown with whom it has to stand on the issue of women wrestlers.
Modi government’s zero tolerance policy on women harassment also suffered a setback
In the last 10 years, BJP has been getting the maximum votes from women. Keeping caste and religion aside, women are voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The reason behind this is the popularity of PM Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said on many occasions that he believes in zero tolerance policy towards injustice towards women. This is the reason why separate cells, authorities or security forces have been formed in BJP ruled states even for cases of molestation of women. The BJP government of Haryana has also made a zero tolerance policy towards molestation of women. Former Haryana Sports Minister and Olympian Sandeep Singh resigned from his post after an FIR was filed by Chandigarh Police in the case of sexual harassment of a junior athletics coach. Journalist MJ Akbar in the Narendra Modi cabinet had to resign in a many years old case due to Me Too allegations. But why the government became weak in the case of Brajbhushan Sharan Singh is not understood till date. Although later Brajbhushan Sharan Singh was removed from the wrestling association but by then it was too late. Due to this delay, the opposition got the opportunity to say that the government is not serious about the safety of women.
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