While welcoming the suspension of the newly-elected Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on December 25 said the Sports Ministry ought to have taken the decision earlier.
Speaking to reporters in Pune, the NCP patriarch said that the move should have come much earlier following complaints of objectionable conduct towards women wrestlers.
“The decision [to suspend the WFI] should have been taken earlier. There was a complaint about objectionable conduct towards women wrestlers. So, this decision against such elements ought to have been taken long back. But though delayed, I welcome the decision,” he said.
Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, and Vinesh Phogat had accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexually exploiting women wrestlers during his tenure as WFI president.
After the BJP MP’s loyalist, Sanjay Singh was elected as WFI president, Ms. Malik announced her retirement from the sport, while Mr. Punia returned his Padma Shri medallion to the government.
The Sports Ministry on December 24 suspended the WFI, days after it elected new office bearers, for not following the provisions of its constitution while taking decisions
The Ministry had asked the Indian Olympic Association to constitute an ad-hoc panel to manage the affairs of the sports body.
