After the stunning silence from Indian cricketers over women wrestlers’ protest against sexual harassment by Wrestling Federation of India chief, the World Cup 1983 winning team has come out in support of the protesting athletes.

They issued a joint statement on Friday condemning the way protesting wrestlers were manhandled by Delhi Police on May 28. The statement has been put out in the name of current BCCI boss Roger Binny, veteran cricketers Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, K Srikkanth, Syed Kirmani, Yashpal Sharma (now deceased), Madan Lal, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Sandeep Patil and Kirti Azad. Kapil Dev said the statement on the wrestlers is not an individual thing but the whole of the 1983 team stands by it.

The veteran cricketers said they were concerned by the fact that the wrestlers were going to immerse their hard-earned Olympic medals into the Ganga. They were shocked that the situation has come to such a pass that wrestlers are thinking of dumping their hard-earned medals into the Ganga because their medals were a result of years of effort, sacrifice, determination, and grit. The cricketers were unanimous that those medals don’t belong to the agitated wrestlers alone but with the nation’s pride and joy. They said they are distressed and disturbed at the unusual visuals of champion wrestlers being manhandled.

The protest has also been heartbreaking, the statement said, since it wrestlers who should be on the practice mat are out on the roads. The 1983 team added they are not in favour throwing their medals away because earning medals isn’t easy and urged the Government to sort out the issue as soon as possible.

Champion wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia have been protesting in Delhi, demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual harassment of women wrestlers. Last Tuesday, they went to Haridwar to immerse their medals in the Ganga but changed plans with the intervention of farmer’s leaders. 

Under the leadership of Kapil Dev, the Indian cricket team won the country’s first World Cup trophy in 1983 beating the then cricketing superpower, the West Indies.

Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was forced into postponing a show of strength rally he had organised in Ayodhya with the help of prominent sants in the area. In a Facebook post, Singh said the event planned for June 5 had been postponed the Jan Chetna Maha Rally for a few days due to the police investigation into the women wrestlers’ allegation against him and the directions of the Supreme Court.

The decision was also prefaced by the Ayodhya district administration denying him permission to hold the rally in Ayodhya on June 5. The sants had called for a Sant Sammelan and the same event had been described as a Jan Chetna Maha Rally by Singh. The event would have seen the participation of some 11 lakh people.

Singh, BJP MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, has been on the mat ever since women wrestlers’ accused him of sexual harassment. Circle Officer (Ayodhya) SP Gautam said due to other programmes scheduled on World Environment Day on June 5, the permission sought by BJP councillor Chamela Devi on behalf of Singh has been denied. DM Nitish Kumar cited the same reason for denial of permission.

Wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, have been protesting since April 23 accusing Singh of sexual harassment.

Earlier, the MP had said he will address a rally in Ayodhya with the blessings of sadhus. His motive was to signal that he had the support of sadhus of Ayodhya, pitting the holy men against the wrestlers who have drawn the support of powerful khaps in western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had said earlier the rally would seek to pressure the Central government to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to prevent its misuse.

Singh faces charges under POSCO Act apart from the Indian Penal Code since one of the wrestlers who had accused him of sexual harassment is a minor. He also said there had been misuse of the Act all over the country and there was an urgent need to amend it. The MP met several sadhus in Ayodhya on Thursday at the Laxman Quila Mandir. Maithili Ram Sharan, the head of the temple, said Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was a religious person.     

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati took a jibe on the Congress and the BJP terming former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s US speech to be a harsh truth.

On Friday, the BSP leader took to her official twitter handle to write Gandhi’s recent speech at US about the status of Dalits and Muslims society in India  to be a bitter truth and blamed the ruling BJP, its predecessor Congress  and the past governments who ruled the country for such situation.

Rahul Gandhi who is on a three-city tour of the US, has been holding various interactions at different events. Gandhi spoke about how the Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs, Christians and other religions feel attacked in India.

The former Uttar Pradesh CM also wrote, whether it is the government of Congress or BJP or SP in other states including UP, the injustice-atrocities and exploitation are common at every level on the poor and deprived of the majority Bahujan Samaj.

She claimed, while in UP, only the BSP government had governed by the law and justice was done to all by establishing the rule of law.

Mayawati further added, if history would be traced, it is filled with dark chapters of incessant and countless communal riots and casteist incidents which were undertaken for political and electoral interests, for which allegations and counter-allegations are made by the political parties but due to these reasons people of these classes are constantly exploited and victimized despite their benevolent constitution and they remain helpless.

The BJP is attacking Gandhi over his remarks in US about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, press freedom and institutions in the country. BJP is in view that the Congress leader holds no bar to insult India at the International forum.

Gandhi arrived in US earlier this week is slated to conclude his trip by addressing a public event in New York on June 4.