In response to the ongoing dispute involving wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has voiced strong concerns, stating, You are saving a man who has serious charges against him. The female wrestlers were promised that any persons associated with Brij Bhushan would not be elected to WFI. What Bajrang Punia had to do was shameful because he did not get justice.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia returned his Padma Shri award Friday in protest against the appointment of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's confidant Sanjay Singh as president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
On Thursday, Sakshi Malik, another Olympic bronze medalist, returned her medal and announced her retirement at a press conference in Delhi, symbolically placing her wrestling boots on the table before media. Earlier this year, Malik and Punia, along with other top wrestlers, launched an agitation against Singh's predecessor, Brij Bhushan, accusing him of sexual exploitation of women wrestlers during his tenure as WFI president. The matter is currently in court.