Don't know what's happening: Ganguly's remark on wrestlers' protest

Former chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Sourav Ganguly, on Friday, commented on the ongoing wrestlers' protest. 

While many have come forward and voiced their concerns, Ganguly said, "he would not like to talk on the matter without having complete knowledge."

According to a PTI video released on Twitter, Ganguly said that he hopes that the issue gets resolved as "these wrestlers have won a lot of medals, brought laurels for the country". He further added that "Let them fight their battle. I don't know what's happening there, I just read in the newspapers. In the sports world, I realised one thing you don't talk about things you don't have complete knowledge of."

Ganguly's comment did not sit well with netizens. The former star player has a massive following of 6.5 million on Twitter and following his comments, many users called Dada a coward for cornering himself from the ongoing protests. A number of Twitter users were disappointed in Ganguly and accused him of playing it “safe", reported LiveMint.

It is worth noting that Ganguly's statement comes at a time when wrestler Vinesh Phogat has slammed the cricket fraternity for staying silent on the matter when other sports personalities like Neeraj Chopra and Sania Mirza have spoken out against the allegations.

Top Indian wrestlers have been protesting against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh. 

The wrestlers, who are protesting at Jantar Mantar in the national capital since April 23, have accused the WFI chief of alleged sexual harassment and intimidation of seven female wrestlers, including a minor. 

Following a scuffle between the wrestlers and Delhi Police, a political slugfest began with many coming forward to stand in solidarity with the wrestlers. On the other hand, the wrestlers have threatened to return their awards back to the government. 

On Friday, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that all the demands of wrestlers had been fulfilled and they should now allow the investigation to be completed. He further added, "I request the players that their demands are being fulfilled and they should allow the investigation to be completed."

(With agency inputs)