Phogat’s disqualification row could play out in Haryana Assembly polls

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat’s shocking disqualification from the Paris Olympics on Wednesday (August 7), after she became the first Indian woman wrestler to enter the boxing finals (under 50 kg category), has turned into a political flashpoint between the ruling BJP-led NDA government and the principal Opposition party, the Congress. The raging row has had its ripples in Parliament, and could well be a political hot potato in the ensuing Assembly polls in Haryana, Phogat's home state, as well.   

Even as the country plunged into a collective heartbreak over Phogat’s disqualification – she was found to be overweight by 100 grams just before she was to face USA’s Sarah Hilderbrandt in the women wrestling (50 kg) finals – the Congress alleged that the incident smacked of a “huge conspiracy of hatred”.

The Grand Old Party dropped barely veiled hints that it believed Phogat’s disqualification was the consequence of her being among the women wrestlers who had gone on a protracted protest against BJP strongman and former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Saran Singh through last year, accusing him of sexual harassment. The protests by Phogat, Sakshi Malik and others had caused widespread outrage over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s obstinate refusal to act against Singh, then a BJP MP, and the then BJP government’s attempts at crushing the wrestlers’ call for justice through brute intimidation by the Delhi Police.

Ripples in Parliament

As Phogat’s dream of winning an Olympic Gold or a silver for the country was dashed, the Congress came out all guns blazing against the Centre. The matter created ripples in Parliament proceedings too, with the Congress and some other Opposition MPs staging a walkout from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha soon after Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya made a statement in both Houses on the tragic episode.

While informing Parliament that the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had “registered strong protest with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)” and that the Prime Minister had directed IOA chief PT Usha, who is in Paris, to “take requisite action in the matter”, Mandaviya also gave an account of the expense that the Centre had incurred on Phogat’s training.

'Centre gave all possible assistance'

“Indian government gave her (Phogat) all possible assistance according to her needs. She was also provided personal staff... Hungary’s famous coach Woller Akos and physio Ashwini Patil were always present with her,” Mandaviya informed the Lok Sabha. He then went on to assert that Phogat a “total of Rs 70,45,775 was provided to Phogat for the Olympics” and listed the various training competitions and camps she participated in.

“For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she was given financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1,13,98,224, and for the Paris Olympics she was given assistance of Rs 53,35,746 spent under TOPS and another Rs 17,10,029 spent under ACTC … i.e. a total of Rs 70,45,775 was given to our athlete,” the sports minister said. He later made the same statement in the Rajya Sabha.

Incidentally, a major part of Mandaviya’s over six-minute long statement concerned the expenses incurred by the Centre on Phogat’s training as he spent barely two minutes talking about the wrestlers’ disqualification and the remedial steps being taken by the IOA. The Congress and other INDIA bloc MPs disrupted the sports minister’s speech, urging the presiding officers in both Houses of Parliament to seek clarifications from him. With their requests turned down, the Congress and some other Opposition MPs staged a walkout.

'Result of conspiracy'

Later in the evening, Congress MP Randeep Surjewala convened a press conference at his party’s headquarters. “It is a black day for Indian Sports; the Modi Government has failed Indian sportspersons... Let us not forget that this is the same Vinesh Phogat who protested at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for 140 days in 2023 while the Modi government did not give her justice. Let us not forget that this is the same Vinesh Phogat who was dragged by the Delhi Police at the instance of the BJP government in front of Parliament,” Surjewala said, while asserting that Phogat’s disqualification was the result of a “conspiracy of hatred” against her.

The Congress MP also claimed that while Phogat was on a winning streak, BJP leaders, including the Prime Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah, Mandaviya and others, did not congratulate her even via X though they eagerly congratulated other Indian Olympians, including members of the hockey team, who had emerged victorious in any round of their respective sport at the Paris Olympics.

“After the disqualification, they have been quick in sending consolation messages... we don’t want a consolation message from the PM, we want justice for our daughter, the golden girl of India,” Surjewala told reporters, while asserting that “there was a sinister conspiracy against her and the country wants to know who could not digest Vinesh Phogat’s victory, who stabbed India’s daughter in the back; was it our own people who had a problem with her winning medals”.

Surjewala also claimed that as per the rules of the International Olympic Association, Phogat could have declared herself injured and refused to go for the final match, which would have ensured that she still won a silver medal for India. “If they (Indian Olympic officials) were alert, they would have known that she was 100 grams overweight and would not have taken her for the weigh-in and the match... was the whole plan to ensure that not only does she not win Gold but that she gets disqualified so that she can’t even bag a silver medal,” the Congress leader said.

Other Congress MPs, including Sirsa MP Kumari Selja and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, also echoed Surjewala’s views. Incidentally, Selja, Hooda and Surjewala all hail from Haryana, Phogat’s home state, which is due for Assembly polls in October/November this year. That the Congress fielded Surjewala, Hooda and Selja to launch its tirade against the BJP over Phogat’s disqualification also shows that this grisly politics over a distressing episode will likely spill over on the electoral battlefield of Haryana too.