Wrestler and Congress candidate Vinesh Phogat on Sunday said she expects to win each battle with the blessings of people as kicks off her campaign for the upcoming assembly election. Phogat (30) has been fielded from the Julana assembly segment for the upcoming assembly poll. Polling in Haryana will take place on October 5 while the counting of votes for the elections to the 90-member assembly will take place on October 8. Phogat was accorded a warm welcome when she reached Julana as her supporters, including elderly people and women and members of various 'Khaps', greeted her with garlands and gave their blessings. The Congress had on Friday released its first list of 32 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, naming her among the party candidates. Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers' protest against then WFI chief and former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, entered the political arena on Friday by joining the Congress. Stand
The Northern Railway has initiated the process of accepting the resignation of wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, with both players expected to be relieved "as early as possible," railway sources said on Sunday. Both Punia and Phogat recently joined the Congress and the latter has been given a ticket to contest election from Julana assembly constituency in Haryana. "The provision of serving three-month notice period after resigning by a railway employee will not come in the way of relieving these two players as we have decided to relax the norm in their cases," a senior railway official told PTI. Railways sources said both the players "will be relieved possibly today or as early as possible." The Northern Railway (NR) had earlier issued show cause notices to them after they met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to join his party. The NR had said the show cause notice was part of the service norm as they were government employees. Following the notice, both resigned from the ..
Vinesh expressed her happiness after meeting the Congress leader and recounted her experience during the protest in a sexual harassment case against ex-MP and former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh
Wresters Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia were used by the Congress as "pawns" in their "conspiracy" to take control of the Wrestling Federation of India and attack the BJP, former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said on Saturday. A day after Olympic medallists Phogat and Punia joined the Congress, the senior BJP leader said here that he had defeated Congress leader Deepender Hooda in the 2012 election for the WFI which is why they nursed a grudge against him. Asked about Phogat and Punia, the two prominent faces of the protest against Singh over charges of sexual harassment, he said, "They were faces... they were mohrey (pawns). They were used by (former Haryana chief minister) Bhupinder Hooda, the Congress and the Congress family like pawns." "This was all conspired to gain hold on the Wrestling Federation of India and to attack the BJP and its ideology...This team of Rahul, the Congress keeps doing this thing," he told PTI Videos. When asked about Vinesh Phogat's assertions t
Haryana Assembly elections: Congress announced its first list of 31 candidates and has fielded Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from the Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency
It isn't just the Congress fielding sportspersons for the forthcoming Haryana Assembly polls. The BJP has fielded Deepak Hooda, former captain of India's national kabaddi team, from Maham Assembly sea
The Congress on Friday released its first list of 31 candidates for the Haryana Assembly polls, fielding former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, state unit chief Udai Bhan from Hodal and wrestler Vinesh Phogat from Julana. The list was released after the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress met here, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria and Hooda, among others, attending the meeting. Besides Hooda, Bhan and Phogat, the Congress has fielded Mewa Singh from Ladwa to take on Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. The party has also fielded Surender Panwar from Sonipat, Bharat Bhushan Batra from Rohtak, Kuldeep Vats from Badli, Chiranjeev Rao from Revari and Neeraj Sharma from Faridabad NIT. Earlier, on the possibility of any MP contesting the polls, Babaria said after the CEC ..
Phogat and Punia met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence and later joined the party at the AICC headquarters on Friday
Former BJP MP and ex-WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on Friday sought to downplay wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia's foray into politics, saying any BJP candidate will defeat them if they contest in Haryana and also offered to campaign in the upcoming assembly elections should his party allow. Talking to journalists at his residence Vishnoharpur, about 40 km from the district headquarters, he said, "These wrestlers made a name in the sport and became famous on the strength of wrestling. Now after joining Congress, their name will be erased.' Earlier, Phogat and Punia, who were at the forefront of the wrestlers' protest against the then WFI chief Singh, joined the Congress with a vow of "not being scared or backing off". There are indications that both or at least one might contest the October 5 assembly polls in Haryana. Reacting to this development, Singh said, "These people consider politics to be a wind. They are thinking that they will win the assembly elections fr
Northern Railway officials have confirmed that wrestler Vinesh Phogat was served a show cause notice on September 4, 2024 in which she was asked to clarify her position regarding joining a political party. When media reports came saying that Phogat would join the Congress party as she met Rahul Gandhi, a notice was issued to her on September 4," an official said. "She was asked to clarify her stand because being a government employee, joining a political party amounts to the violation of service rule, he added. Congress leader KC Venugopal on Friday alleged that Phogat was served a show cause notice after she resigned from the Railways, to which Himanshu Upadhyay, CPRO, Northern Railways, denied. She was not given any notice after she resigned, Upadhyay told PTI.
Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia will join Congress on Friday, and may announce their possible entry in the Assembly elections. Phogat might contest from Julana and Punia from Badli
Senior Haryana BJP leader Anil Vij on Friday took a dig at wrestler Vinesh Phogat over joining the Congress, saying what objection could they have if she wanted to become "Congress ki beti" from "desh ki beti". The former minister was asked about Phogat and another wrestler Bajrang Punia, both from Haryana, hours before the two joined the Congress on Friday 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 said the Congress was trying to bring these players with them from the very first day and it was due to their instigation that the wrestlers started the movement 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. The BJP sought to underpla
Former India wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Friday resigned from the Indian Railways citing personal reasons amid speculations that she would be joining the Congress party. "Serving Indian Railways has been a memorable and proud time of my life," she posted on X with a picture of her resignation letter. She was employed as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) with Northern Railways. "At this point in my life, I have decided to separate myself from the railway service and have submitted my resignation to the competent authorities of the Indian Railways. I will always be grateful to the Indian Railway family for this opportunity given to me by the Railways in the service of the nation," she added. The 30-year-old wrestler had quit wrestling following her disqualification from the 50kg gold medal match in the Paris Olympics. She had appealed against the decision which was rejected by Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Wrestler Vinesh Phogat has submitted her resignation from the Indian Railways and is set to join the Congress party on September 6
Rahul Gandhi met wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, hinting they might contest on Congress tickets as the party seeks to boost its chances against the BJP
'The country won't progress if people sit on the streets like this,' said Olympian Vinesh Phogat
Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik have accused the Delhi Police of withdrawing security cover of wrestlers set to testify against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh; Delhi Police has denied the allegation
While Neeraj Chopra has been identified as the highest-valued non-cricketer among Indian sportspersons, Manu Bhaker is also finalising big deals