Will it be Vinesh Phogat vs Saina Nehwal in the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections? This possibility cannot be denied given the Congress stand as well as former badminton champion and Bharatiya Janata Party member Nehwal’s statements following Phogat’s disqualification from the final wrestling bout at the Paris Olympics. As soon as news about Phogat’s disqualification was flashed, the Congress moved in quickly to accuse the government-controlled Wrestling Federation of India of denying her necessary facilities during her preparations for the Paris games. The Opposition charged that Phogat was discriminated against because she was among those who led last year’s street protests demanding an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment of women wrestlers by former WFI president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
The Congress war cry soon resonated with people in Haryana with khap panchayats and farmers coming out in Phogat’s support. Well aware that the Congress is all set to make the Phogat episode the centrepiece of its election campaign, the BJP swung into action. Besides sending top lawyer Harish Salve to Paris to take up Phogat’s case on behalf of the Indian Olympic Association, there was a timely interview by Saina Nehwal heaping praise on the Modi government for improving facilities and budgets for sportspersons after it came to power in 2014.
The interview was tweeted by MyGovIndia, leading to speculation that the BJP may field the former badminto.