Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday, May 28 took a jibe at the Narendra Modi-led Union government over the assault and detention of the protesting wrestlers by the Delhi police, adding that the ‘sengol’ has bent on the first day after it was placed in the new Parliament building. On Sunday morning, PM Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building and placed the sengol (sceptre) from Tamil Nadu near the chair of the Lok Sabha Speaker. The sengol was handed over to the first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 on the eve of Indian Independence. According to ancient Tamil texts, the sengol is the symbol of a just and benevolent ruler; the texts suggest that if the ruler delivers injustice, the sengol will bend.
Reacting to the incident of the wrestlers being subjected to assault, the Chief Minister said that after sidelining the President of India and facing boycott by opposition parties, the government has committed atrocities on the first day of the inauguration of the new Parliament building. Stalin also condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for not taking action against the party’s MP and the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan even after serious charges of sexual harassment have been levelled against him.
“It has been several months since female wrestlers filed a sexual harassment complaint against a BJP MP. The party leadership has not taken any action against him so far. Women wrestlers are protesting continuously in the [nation’s] capital. It is condemnable that the protesters were manhandled, dragged and forcefully arrested, during the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament building. This shows that the sengol has bent on the first day. Is it just [aram] to stage anarchy on the inauguration day, in which the President as well as the opposition parties were ignored?” he tweeted, sharing an image of the protesters being manhandled.
பாஜக நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் ஒருவர் மீது மல்யுத்த வீராங்கனைகள் பாலியல் புகார் சொல்லிப் பல மாதங்கள் ஆகிவிட்டன. அவர் மீது இதுவரை அக்கட்சியின் தலைமை எந்த நடவடிக்கையும் எடுக்கவில்லை. மல்யுத்த வீராங்கனைகள் தொடர்ந்து தலைநகரில் போராடி வருகிறார்கள். இந்திய நாடாளுமன்றத்தின் புதிய கட்டடத்… https://t.co/9azP1YuSKB
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 28, 2023
Stalin’s son and Tamil Nadu Sports Minister also reacted to the arrests by saying, “I strongly condemn the Delhi police for forcibly evicting female wrestlers who were marching towards the new parliament building seeking justice and action against their sexual harasser. The treatment meted out to our champions was disgusting & beyond belief. Justice shall prevail.”
I strongly condemn the Delhi police for forcibly evicting female wrestlers who were marching towards the new parliament building seeking justice and action against their sexual harasser. The treatment meted out to our champions was disgusting & beyond belief. Justice shall… pic.twitter.com/hMtxG3Jpil
— Udhay (@Udhaystalin) May 28, 2023
The wrestlers have been holding protests in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for more than a month demanding legal action against Brij Bhushan for sexually harassing them. On Sunday, a scuffle broke out between the wrestlers and the police when the former were stopped while marching towards the Parliament. Multiple videos from the incident show the police manhandling the protesters and dismantling the tents at the protest site.