‘They must get their rights’: Vinesh Phogat at farmers’ protest

Chandigarh: Wrestler Vinesh Phogat joined the farmers' protest at the Shambhu border on Saturday morning, claiming to be a farmer's daughter who has experienced the hardships that farmers suffer on a daily basis.

“Faslon aur naslon ko bachane ke liye hum kisan aur mazdoor parivar ke saath khade hain (To save crops and future generations, I am standing with the families of farmers and labourers),” Phogat said, as hundreds of farmers observed the 200th day of their protest over several demands, including a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. “Farmers should be heard and they must get their rights,” she added, the Indian Express reported.

“We are citizens in this country and if anyone raises an issue, it should be heard. Everything should not be linked to caste or religion,” Phogat further said.

A number of farmers had courted arrest in support of Phogat when she spearheaded demonstrations in Delhi last year to get a sexual assault charge filed against former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was the head of the Wrestling Federation of India at the time.

“They were from Bhartiya Kisan Union (Shaheed Bhagat Singh)-Haryana, BKU Ekta (Azad), BKU (Krantikari), Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and Rajasthan Gramin Kisan Sangharsh Samiti. I cannot forget their support for the wrestlers’ struggle and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. I am always standing tall with the farmers and labourers of this country,” she said.

Farmer union leaders Sarwan Singh Pandher, coordinator of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM); Amarjeet Singh Morhi from BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh); Tejveer Singh, spokesperson of BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh); and Surjit Singh Phul from BKU (Krantikari), among others, honoured Phogat on Saturday.

After visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Friday, Phogat proceeded to the Khanauri border to address the farmers.

“We are proud of Phogat’s performance at the Olympics and her support for farmers shows that she understands our issues,” Pandher said, adding, “We appeal to the government to open the Shambhu and Khanauri borders so that we can march towards Delhi to get ourselves heard.”

Since February 13 of this year, farmers have been camping along the borders of Shambhu and Khanauri under the banner of KMM and SKM (non-political).