Kaithal (Haryana) [India]: Days after wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined Congress, party MP Randeep Singh Surjewala praised LoP Rahul Gandhi for respecting sportspersons of the country.
“Vinesh Phogat has been given a ticket from Congress. Rahul Gandhi has respected the sportspersons of the country and has become a partner in the fight for justice,” Surjewala said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Vinesh started her election campaign in the Jind region of Haryana on Sunday.
On Friday, Phogat and wrestler Bajrang Punia joined Congress just one month before the Haryana Assembly Elections.
Within hours of joining the party, Phogat was fielded as a party candidate from the Julana Assembly constituency while Punia was appointed as the working president of the All India Kisan Congress.
Punia won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, while Vinesh Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final in Paris last month. The wrestlers resigned from their respective positions in Northern Railways earlier on that day.
On Saturday, Phogat met former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and said that her new journey is not just politics but a fight for service and justice on a new platform.
Vinesh expressed her happiness after meeting the Congress leader and recounted her experience during the protest in a sexual harassment case against ex-MP and former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
“Yesterday I was happy to meet former Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Hooda ji and Lok Sabha MP and my elder brother Deepender Hooda ji at his residence in Delhi. Hooda Sahab’s sports policy has made Haryana a leader in sports. During his tenure, players got jobs like DSP and cash awards, which attracted the youth towards sports and inspired them to win medals at the international level,” Vinesh posted on X.
“Even today I cannot forget the day when we were dragged on the streets of Delhi. In that difficult time, our elder brother Deepender Hooda ji not only stood with us and gave us courage, but also raised his voice strongly against the injustice being done to the daughters of the country. This new journey is not just politics for me, but a fight for service and justice on a new platform,” she added.
The voting for the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5 and the last date for filing nominations is September 12. The counting of votes will be held on October 8.