WFI chief Sanjay Singh's election: Bajrang Punia says he will return Padma Shri to PM Modi
Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia on Friday (December 22, 2023) said he will return his Padma Shri award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a day after former Wrestling Federation of India chief's close aide Sanjay Singh was elected to the top post of the Indian wrestling body.
Bajrang's co-wrestler and Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik earlier hung up her boots to protest against the election.
On his X page, Punia wrote: "I am returning my Padma Shri to PM Narendra Modi."
Sanjay Singh defeated Anita Sheoran 40-7 in a virtually one-sided contest.
However, Prem Chand Lochab, who seemingly got the support of the protesting wrestlers, was elected as the secretary general.
The wrestlers officially ended their protest on June 7 after the Sports Minister assured them none of the family members or close associates of Brij Bhushan would be allowed to enter the WFI election.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.