A mahapanchayat in Haryana’s Kurukshetra on Friday gave the Centre a week’s time to initiate a dialogue on the wrestlers’ demand for the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. If the government failed to reach an amicable resolution of the situation, the agitation at Jantar Mantar in Delhi will be resumed from June 9, it said.
Several top wrestlers have been demanding the arrest of the WFI president over the alleged sexual exploitation of female grapplers, including a minor. Mr. Singh has denied these charges
Announcing the decision after an hour-long meeting, Bharatiya Kisan Union chief Rakesh Tikait said, “The government has time till June 9 to resolve the matter, or we will accompany the children [wrestlers] to Jantar Mantar to resume the sit-in agitation.” The mahapanchayat was attended by several khap leaders and their supporters from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
