Priyanka Gandhi assures wrestlers Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia of support in their fight for justice

New Delhi: Wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia on Friday met Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who assured them of support in every way in their fight for justice.

Gandhi said women wrestlers who have brought glory to the country from across the world had accused a BJP parliamentarian of sexual exploitation, but the saffron party's government did not take any action against him.

On the contrary, she claimed that the victims were tortured in various ways. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is still standing with the accused and is rewarding him in every way, the Congress general secretary said, adding that the women of the country are watching these atrocities.

Congress leader Deepender Hooda accompanied the wrestlers when they went to meet Gandhi.

Deepender Hooda earlier met Malik and Punia at his residence, where former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was also present.

'India's only Olympic medal-winning female wrestler, Sakshi Malik, retired from wrestling due to the grave injustice done to her and the Centre not honouring its promises. This is not a good sign as far as respect for the women of the country and the world of sports are concerned.

'I met Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyavrat Kadyan this morning. She was deeply hurt by the breach of the promises made to him. We urged her to reconsider her decision of quitting wrestling in the interest of the country and assured her that we will not quit till she gets justice,' Deepinder Hooda said in a post on X.

Sanjay Singh, a loyalist of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, was elected as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Thursday -- an outcome that triggered outrage among protesting wrestlers and prompted Malik to announce her retirement from the sport.

Malik and other wrestlers had accused former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexually harassing female grapplers.