Full support to farmer protest, says Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat

CHANDIGARH, SEPT 1 :  A month before the assembly elections in Haryana, Olympic wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Saturday pledged her unstinted support to the protesting farmers at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, who marked the 200th day of their agitation there.

The farmers were on a ‘Delhi Chalo’ agitation demanding legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism, when they were stopped at the Shambhu border. Phogat, who was disqualified from the Paris Olympics finals because she was overweight by 100 gm in her 50 kg category, was felicitated by the farmers.

Emphasising that the demands of the farmers were legitimate, she said, “I want to tell you that your daughter is with you.” Phogat lamented that the farmers’ issues had remained unresolved. “It hurts to see you all protesting for this long. Sometimes we feel helpless at not being able to do anything for you. We represent the country at the international level but are unable to do anything for our own family. I request the government to resolve their issues at the earliest,” she said.

But Vinesh declined comment when asked if would enter the political fray and contest the upcoming assembly elections. “I do not know about politics,’’ she said.

-PTI