How Wrestlers protest has turned into battleground for 2024 LS polls

New Delhi: The protesting wrestlers have clearly opened a war against the Modi government by roping in farmer unions to their protest.

The farmers have started shouting slogans such as "Modi teri kabra khudegi" and "Modi murdabad" in an apparent indication that the battle is aimed at the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

मांग तो बृजभूषण सिंह के इस्तीफे की थी ! #JantarMantarprotest #WrestlerProtest pic.twitter.com/LmjWTIBldO

— Pramila Dixit (@pramiladixit) May 8, 2023

However, Bajrang Punia defended the slogans while resharing an Instagram story.

It all started with the complaints of sexual harassment against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh but had that been the only case, they would have let the law of the land perform its duties.

Also read: Wrestlers' protest hijacked: Sudesh Goyat, who heckled PT Usha, is a professional protester

People who believe that there is a political angle to the protest say that it is not easy to arrest a sitting MP without a thorough probe in the current circumstances, despite sexual harassment being a non-bailable offence.

Make no mistake. Unlike the farmers’ protest, the wrestlers’ protest was not to save wrestling or sports by forcing the government to change a policy or law.

Also read: How wrestlers' protest turns farmers' protest

Instead, it was against one individual’s alleged misconduct which existing laws are capable to solve. Moreover, there is a political angle to the entire protest.

The statements of wrestlers in the last couple of days insinuate that they want the law to work as their Khap panchayat which they trust more than the Supreme Court of India.

The future of wrestling is at stake as it is believed that the game will be out of the Olympics after the next year’s edition scheduled to be held in Paris.

Had the protesters collected farmers to protest against the decision of the International Olympics Association to save the future generations of wrestlers, they would have gathered support from across the country.

Unless it is intentional, the wrestlers have no idea which elements have hijacked their protest, a charge that was denied by woman wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Sunday.

Unless it is personal, they have no idea how they are hurting the sport of wrestling.

Wrestlers along with the farmers on several occasions during their protest said that the government does not respect those who won medals for the country and threatened to return all their awards, including the civilian awards.

However, many view this threat as an act of arm-twisting claiming that the wrestlers earned the medal for them as well.

The accusations of disrespecting sports icons cannot stick to the Modi government because the country has seen how Prime Minister Narendra Modi proactively participated in honouring the sports star of the country, said one of such sporting icons who did not want to come into any limelight from either side.

The protest is widely believed to have become yet another face-off between the Modi government and farmers and there are chances for it going ugly as it happened in 2021.

The government kept insisting that the farm laws were for the welfare of the farmers but political opponents were successful in misguiding the farmers who have now started repenting for forcing the government to withdraw the farm laws.

Similarly, wrestlers are protesting against the government that had a special focus on the growth of all sports in the country and ran mass programmes such as Khelo India.

In Union Budget, sports’ share has grown about three times (3X) under the Modi government.

In 2012-13, under the UPA government, the sports budget was Rs 871 crore. It was 1,100 crore in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Under the Modi government, the sports budget has seen a constant rise in terms of gross amount year on year and now stands at Rs 3400 crore for FY 2023-24.

Sports minister Anurag Thakur met protesting wrestlers during their first round of protest earlier this year in January and the government accepted all the demands.

The government sent its representatives including Indian Olympic Association president and former Olympian PT Usha to meet the protesting wrestlers. However, Usha was chased away from Jantar Mantar after facing heckling from the professional protester Sudesh Goyat.

From the government to Supreme Court, every institution failed to break the deadlock. In such circumstances, the country is closely watching how May 21 deadline given by farmers to arrest the WFI chief unfolds in the future.