A day after the Indian Olympic Association announced the dissolution of the three-member ad-hoc committee, paving the way for the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to be run independently by its elected office-bearers, headed by BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s close aide, Sanjay Singh, top grapplers Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik urged for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to keep Brij Bhushan out of the association.

On Monday it was learnt that Sanjay – a close aide of Brij Bhushan, the BJP MP accused of sexually harassing women athletes, will assume full charge of the WFI. This came after the IOA announced it would dissolve ‘with immediate effect’ the three-member ad-hoc committee, formed under the instructions of the government after it suspended the WFI executive committee post elections in December last year.

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The development means the rules that could make or break the Paris Olympics ambitions of Vinesh and Bajrang Punia, the two wrestlers at the forefront of protests against Brij Bhushan, will be taken by Sanjay, whose election they opposed.

Sakshi, the third famous face of the wrestlers’ protest, on Tuesday joined Vinesh in urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do something in order to oust someone like Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh from the field of sports.

“The Prime Minister is a spin master, knows how to spin the issue by invoking ‘women power’ to counter the speeches of his rivals. Narendra Modi ji, let us also know the real truth of women power,” Vinesh said.

“Brij Bhushan, who exploited women wrestlers, has again taken over wrestling. It is hoped that you (PM) will not just use women as shields, but will also do something to oust such oppressors from the sports institutions of the country,” she added.

Sakshi, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist, who retired from the sport in protest against the election of Sanjay to the top post, said that the WFI office-bearers were acting as if they were above the law.

“History is witness to the fact that powerful people in this country have played with the honour of women for centuries,” she said.

“…the rich miscreant is so powerful that he is above the government, the Constitution and the judiciary. After the government suspended the wrestling association, Brij Bhushan and Sanjay Singh kept giving statements that this suspension is just a show, we will be reinstated after a few days and we will have control over the wrestling association forever. This proved to be true and this letter from the Indian Olympic Association officially confirmed this and proved that even in this new India, the age-old tradition of insulting women will continue,” she further said.