Newly-elected Congress MLA Vinesh Phogat joined former Delhi MLA Alka Lamba, president of All India Mahila Congress, at a press conference in the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Monday to address a slew of sexual harassment cases.
The duo accused the BJP of hindering cases of sexual harassment of women by downplaying them. Phogat stated that they stand in solidarity with Roshni Jaiswal, reminding that the women wrestlers' sexual harassment case is still ongoing. "Our fight in this case is still on... BJP has always tried to suppress the cases of injustice against the women," she told media.
Last month, Roshni Jaiswal allegedly attacked BJP worker Rajesh Singh at his home with a group of people, following claims of Singh's objectionable comments on Jaiswal's social media post. Following this, Singh was summoned to a Varanasi police station for questioning, inviting the ire of an angry set of BJP supporters. Later, Jaiswal's husband, who was part of the party that allegedly assaulted Singh, was arrested.
Since Jaiswal failed to appear for court proceedings that followed, she was declared absconding and with an order for the attachment of her property, adding to the tensions between Congress and BJP workers in Varanasi.
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Thirty-year-old Phogat recently announced her retirement from wrestling and forayed into politics shortly after her Olympics performance. Vinesh Phogat and fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia were significant figures in the wrestlers' protest against former WFI chief and politician Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
On Sunday, Haryana Police announced an inquiry following a letter shared on social media regarding the alleged sexual harassment of female police personnel by an IPS officer. Hisar Range Additional DGP M Ravi Kiran said that a fact-finding inquiry was initiated with the matter under investigation.
