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He was asked about Phogat and Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia hours befire the two joined Congress ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.
“… Agar woh desh ki beti sey Congress ki beti banna chaahti hai, to hamein kya etraaz hai (if Vinesh wants to become Congress’ daughter from being the country’s daughter, what objection can we have),” the former Haryana home minister said.
Vij alleged that the Congress had attempted to get the athletes to the party from the first day and it was due to their instigation that the wrestlers protested in Delhi.
“It was because of their (Congress’) instigation that the (Delhi) protest was going on, otherwise the matter would have settled long before,” he said.
Punia and Phogat met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders at his residence.
The two officially joined the party at a press conference at the AICC headquarters.
Phogat on Friday resigned from the Indian Railways citing personal reasons.
Punia and Phogat were part of the protest over sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in 2023.
Punia had won the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, while Phogat became the first woman wrestler to reach the Olympics final, before she was disqualified after being found overweight by about 100 gm in her 50-kg category weigh-in.
Congress leader Deepender Hooda had led a grand welcome for Phogat at the Delhi airport upon her arrival from the Paris Olympics last month.
Hooda had supported the agitation by Phogat and other wrestlers, mostly from Haryana, against Singh.
