Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia had a talk with Anurag Thakur

On Wednesday, wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia arrived at the residence of Anurag Thakur, Union Sports Minister, hours after he invited them to ‘address their problems late at night. 

Wrestlers have demanded that Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh be arrested based on sexual harassment and intimidation.

Anurag Thakur tweeted shortly after midnight on Wednesday, “The government is willing to discuss with wrestlers on their issues.” I’ve invited the wrestlers once more for the same.” Thakur’s request came only days after the wrestlers met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the allegations against Brij Bhushan, a Bharatiya Janata Party MP.

Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia meet Shah:

The wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia met Shah at his home last week but expressed dissatisfaction; Punia told NDTV that the protestors were “not happy with the government’s response.”

Punia said he wanted to know why Brij Bhushan had not yet been arrested, although Delhi Police had filed two FIRs against him only after the Supreme Court intervened, and he warned Shah that the wrestlers would not back down. 

Punia later informed reporters that he had been ordered not to announce that the wrestlers had met with Amit Shah, but he opted to do it anyway.

The discussion with Shah came just days after the wrestlers declared they would hurl hard-earned medals from international athletic contests into the Ganga river, escalating into a war of attrition against the government. 

That dramatic moment was halted when farmer union leader Rakesh Tikait, who organised the demonstration against the BJP government’s (now-scrapped) three-farm legislation, persuaded the wrestlers to halt their action.

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