“These honours are suffocating me…”: Bajrang Punia to return his Padma Shri to PM Modi amidst WFI election row

A day after Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from her prolific wrestling journey as a mark of protest over Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s close aide Sanjay Singh assuming the role of the President of the Wrestling Federation of India, Bajrang Punia followed suit in an attempt to draw the Prime Minister’s attention to the plight of the wrestlers of this country. Punia, on Friday, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that he would be returning his Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award bestowed upon any Indian citizen.

Taking to the social media platform “X”, Bajrang Punia shared his statement. “I am returning my Padmashree award to the Prime Minister. This is just my letter to say. This is my statement,” tweeted the Indian wrestler, in solidarity with Sakshi Malik’s protest.

In his three-page letter, addressed to the Prime Minister, Punia talked about the wrestler’s protest, held in January this year, against the then President of WFI, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual harassment. You must be aware that the women wrestlers of the country started a protest in January this year against Brish Bhushan Singh accusing him of sexual harassment. I too joined their protest. The protest stopped after the government promised strong action," wrote Punia in his letter.

"But there was no FIR against Brij Bhushan even after three months. We again took to the streets in April so that the police at least file an FIR against him. There were 19 complainants in January but the number came down to 7 by April. This means Brij Bhushan exerted his influence on 12 women wrestlers," continued Bajrang Punia, alleging that the BJP MP used his influence to deter the complainants from seeking justice.

Punia went on to highlight the instance when the wrestlers were compelled to immerse their medals in the river Ganga as a mark of protest but were stopped by farmer leaders. "At that time a responsible minister from your cabinet called us up and assured us of justice. Meanwhile, we met Union Home Minister Amit Shah who too promised us justice. We stopped our protest," wrote Punia.

"But in the election of the WFI on December 21, the federation came under Brij Bhushan once again. He said he would prevail over the federation as he did always. Coming under tremendous pressure, Sakshi Malik announced her retirement from wrestling," said Bajrang Punia, talking about Sakshi Malik’s retirement from her sport.

He then went on to highlight the immense mental pressure he was under, after Brij Bhusan Singh’s speech, following Sanjay Singh’s victory in the WFI elections. "I couldn't understand where to go, what to do, and how to live. The government and the people gave me so much respect. Should I continue to suffocate under the burden of this respect? In the year 2019, I was awarded the Padma Shri. I was also honoured with the Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award. I was very happy when I received these honours. It seemed that life had been successful. But, today, I am much unhappier than I was happy at the time, and these honours are suffocating me… There is only one reason for this: It was wrestling that got me these honours and female wrestlers now have to quit that very sport for their safety,” stated Bajrang Punia, elucidating why he was compelled to return his award.

"If Brij Bhushan Singh's business partner and a close aide is elected as the president of WFI, I quit wrestling said Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik, announcing her retirement from wrestling on Thursday, following the appointment of Sanjay Singh, an alleged aide of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India.

On December 21, Sanjay Singh, a close aide of Brij Bhushan Sharan Sigh, assumed the position of the new President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Thursday, securing a victory with 40 votes compared to the 7 obtained by his competitor, Anita Sheoran.