“How can a democratic state do this?” That’s what Sudesh Hooda, 50, demanded to know on Sunday as she was thwarted in her efforts to get to Jantar Mantar in the heart of Delhi. She had travelled more than 30 km away from the Najafgarh area to demonstrate her solidarity for the champion wrestlers who had been protesting at the site since April 23 to press for action against Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Singh, a Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Uttar Pradesh, has been accused of sexual misconduct with at least seven female wrestlers, including a minor. Among the protestors are international stars Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, On May 7, they issued a 15-day ultimatum to the Central government to arrest Singh.
When their deadline expired, the wrestlers announced that they would hold a Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat or women’s assembly on Sunday, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to inaugurate a new Parliament building – about 3 km from the site of the protest. The mahapanchayat would have been held outside the new building. However, when supporters like Hooda and others representing women’s groups, student groups and farmer organisations tried to join the wrestlers in…
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