“Brij Bhushan understood that we will not go anywhere until women wrestlers get justice,” says wrestler Vinesh Phogat.

The wrestler also mentioned that at all stages of his protest against Brij Bhushan, there was a negative campaign as well. She said the BJP MP had earlier said that he would hang himself even if a woman came forward and confirmed that she was facing sexual harassment, but his stance kept changing with his own statement. .

“We were concerned that he would use his powerful connections to pressure the system, but our lawyer told us not to worry. The BJP gave his son a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. This shows that they still support Brij Bhushan. I can say that the day Brij Bhushan no longer has the support of the Center government and loses power, there will be many more girls who will come forward and complain about him,” Phogat added.

Criticism against the protesting wrestlers continued even after they stopped protesting at Jantar Mantar, Phogat added.

“It happens even when I compete now. I didn’t win the 53kg events because I wanted to concentrate on the 50kg. I didn’t really go all out in the 53 kg events. Immediately, the IT cell started chasing me, she added.

She further said that the same thing happened with Bajrang Punia.

“And when I do well, those critics shut up. It’s not easy when you’re being trolled or there are negative comments about you everywhere. All our lives we have competed with dignity and peacefully. But because of the IT cell and trolls, there was an accumulation of negativity,” the wrestler said.

Phogat further said that some people think that they are “doing politics”, but it is not possible to go from person to person and make them understand that the protests of the female wrestlers were only a single objective, that of obtaining justice for the wrestlers.

She said what saddened her most was not that they didn’t have enough people to support them, but the fact that many people didn’t want to see the truth and were closed-minded.

Phogat told the publication that protesting on the roads amid the heat was a difficult task and it all had a negative effect on their wrestling career. They had to miss matches, return their awards and most importantly Sakshi had to step down in protest after the WFI election results.

The wrestler also said he witnessed positive developments during his protests, which he was initially unsure of, and said police did a good job in their investigation.

Phogat hopes that women, after witnessing their protests, will have the courage to speak out and if they win this case against Brij Bhushan, it will definitely have a positive impact for women across the country.