Three female and other wrestlers are on a sit-out protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding action against the chairman of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Ever since the wrestlers sat on protest there have been a number of controversies and politics around it. After visits of top congress leaders and other political parties, an Islamic group raised Azadi slogans in support of the protest.
On May 4, a group of Islamists reached the protest site and raised Azadi, Anti-Modi, Anti-RSS and other slogans. They raised these propaganda-driven slogans in the guise of the wrestler’s protest.
According to a report by Khabar India, a group with burqa-clad women and other youngsters showed up at the protest site. These self-proclaimed activists raised slogans like Azadi, Modi se Azadi, RSS se Azadi, Behamanwaad se Azadi and others in the row. They had dedicated placards and notes, some of them were reading the slogans from their mobile phones.
The protestors alleged that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is the culprit and the BJP government is sacking him. The protestors demanded the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and alleged that the Delhi police are working under the pressure of the central government.
The students in their slogans also mentioned Mohammad Akhalaq and Junaid Khan whose bodies were recovered from a charred vehicle in Rajasthan. The whole media claimed that Gau Rakshak’s were behind the alleged murders, however, nothing is proven to date.
Salman Abbasi, a supporter of the wrestler’s protest said that there is unrest in the minds of Muslims in India. He said that the whole Muslim community is against the government in this protest and supports the wrestlers. He said that Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao is just a slogan for BJP.
“They do not save girls and they do not educate girls. See what they have done in Madhya Pradesh. If a person from another party does anything, they put the entire IT cell after him. We hope for justice from the courts and Allah”, he said.
Another protestor said, “They are asking why are we asking for freedom. We are asking for freedom which means Azadi. Why a wrestler like Vinesh Phogat has to suffer? She is a diamond of the country.”
Notably, a journalist confronted the burqa-clad girl after the slogans and asked, if they were assembled in support of wrestlers or not. The girl nodded yes and then the journalist asked then why were they raising slogans like Modi se Azadi, RSS se Azadi, Brahmanwaadi se Azadi, they should talk about Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The woman said they were supporting the wrestlers.
"ब्राह्मणवाद से आजादी” के नारों का यह वीडियो सोशल मीडिया पर तेजी से वायरल है. दावा किया जा रहा है कि ये पहलवानों के धरना स्थल का है. इस वायरल वीडियो को लेकर @BajrangPunia अभी तक आप लोगों का क्लियरिफ़िकेशिन नहीं आया है. क्या ये नारे आपके धरना स्थल पर लगे? pic.twitter.com/k0zqQIwAds
— Shubham Shukla (@Shubhamshuklamp) May 5, 2023
It is pertinent to mention that similar slogans were raised by protestors in many protests in the past. Anti-CAA protests, Shaheen Bagh protests, farmers’ protests, and various other protests in JNU are known for these Azadi slogans. Now, these sloganeers showed up in the wrestlers’ protests too.
