Rahul Gandhi takes 'Baahubali' jibe at PM Modi in response to Vinesh Phogat's awards return

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has voiced criticism against Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the public gesture of multiple World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat, who returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award on Saturday. The athlete left the awards at New Delhi's Kartavya Path after being stopped by the Delhi Police from reaching the Prime Minister's office.

Stressing that self-respect comes first for “every daughter of the country” and any medal or honour comes after that, Gandhi indirectly mentioned former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who had been accused of sexual harassment by three well-known grapplers, in his social media post on X (formally Twitter).“Today, has the cost of 'political gains' derived from a declared 'strongman' become greater than the tears of these brave daughters? The prime minister is the guardian of the nation, witnessing such insensitivity causes anguish,” Gandhi wrote.As a mark of protest, Phogat left the awards at the Kartavya Path and the Delhi Police later picked them up.

Phogat, along with Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, had protested against the election of Sanjay Singh, a close aide of Brij Bhushan.In her letter posted on X, Phogat had said their lives are not like those "fancy government advertisements" that talk about women's empowerment and upliftment.Acting on the sports ministry directive, the IOA on Wednesday constituted a three-member ad hoc committee to run the day-to-day affairs of the WFI.

देश की हर बेटी के लिये आत्मसम्मान पहले है, अन्य कोई भी पदक या सम्मान उसके बाद।

आज क्या एक ‘घोषित बाहुबली’ से मिलने वाले ‘राजनीतिक फायदे’ की कीमत इन बहादुर बेटियों के आंसुओं से अधिक हो गई?

प्रधानमंत्री राष्ट्र का अभिभावक होता है, उसकी ऐसी निष्ठुरता देख पीड़ा होती है। pic.twitter.com/XpoU6mY1w9

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 31, 2023