New Delhi: In a possible jibe at her cousin and wrestler Babita Phogat, international wrestler Vinesh Phogat said that sports personalities should maintain honour and respect in the field of politics as well.
In a tweet Tuesday, Vinesh, who is Babita’s first cousin, wrote in Hindi, “A player is a player no matter which field he is in. I request players, especially players from Haryana, to maintain the same honour and respect that you have displayed while playing for your country in politics as well.”
She added that the players who are in politics should not hurt the feelings of those who always contribute to make a player in the field of sports.
एक खिलाड़ी हमेशा एक खिलाड़ी ही रहता है चाहे वो किसी भी फ़ील्ड में चला जाए.. मेरा खिलाड़ियों, विशेषकर हरियाणा के खिलाड़ियों से अनुरोध है.. राजनीति करना अच्छी बात है, लेकिन जैसा कि आपने अपने खेल से देश, प्रदेश, समाज और अपने परिवार का नाम हमेशा ऊंचा किया है.. (1/2)
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) December 15, 2020
While Vinesh did not take any names in her tweet, several people speculated that she was cryptically responding to her elder sister’s views on farmers’ protest.
इसको भी थोड़ी बुद्धि दे।जब किसान अपने हक़ के लिए लड रहा है ये अलग ही नौटंकी कर रही है।😠 pic.twitter.com/9ofaHGxl2t
— 👑चौधरी देव सिंह👑ਚੌਧਰੀ ਦੇਵ ਸਿੰਘ👑 (@iamdevsngh) December 15, 2020
किसान परिवार में जन्मी आपकी बहन को भी आपसे सीखना चाहिए। कुर्सी के लिए इतना गिरना भी ठीक नही, थोड़ा बहुत आत्मसम्मान भी होना चाहिए। अब वो क्या मुँह लेकर जाएगी किसानों के बीच मे जिनके लाड प्यार से वो यहाँ तक पहुंची थी। बबिता फोगाट हरियाणा के लोगों की नजरों में गिर चुकी है। 😒
— Sunil Sheoran (@SNLSheoran) December 15, 2020
Babita, who is also a BJP leader, has openly opposed the agitation by the farmers against the Modi government’s three farm laws.
In a tweet Monday, she alleged that the protests had been “hijacked” by the ‘tukde-tukde gang’, and that the farmers should come back.
“PM Modi will never let the rights of farmers and peasants be affected, but Congress and Left parties can never support the farmers,” she added.
अब लगता है किसान आंदोलन को टुकड़े टुकड़े गैंग ने हाईजैक कर लिया है।सभी किसान भाइयों से हाथ जोड़कर विनती करती हूं कृपया करके अपने घर वापिस लौट जाएं।माननीय प्रधानमंत्री @narendramodi जी कभी भी किसान भाइयों का हक नहीं मरने देंगे।कांग्रेसी और वामपंथी लोग किसान का भला कभी नहीं कर सकते
— Babita Phogat (@BabitaPhogat) December 14, 2020
कांग्रेस जैसे राजनीतिक दल जिनको जनता ने नकार कर हाशिए पर भेज दिया है अब भोले-भाले किसानों को बरगला कर अपनी राजनीति चमकाने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं।सभी किसान भाइयों से प्रार्थना करती हूं कि विश्वास रखें माननीय प्रधानमंत्री @narendramodi जी कभी भी किसान का बुरा नहीं कर सकते । pic.twitter.com/L0olg3m2C1
— Babita Phogat (@BabitaPhogat) December 6, 2020
Also read: Farmers formally reject Modi govt’s proposal to amend farm laws, demand total repeal
Vinesh tweeting in support of farmers
Meanwhile, Vinesh’s stance has been the complete opposite.
The younger Phogat has been sharing and retweeting tweets in support of farmers. On 7 December, the Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee said the farmers just want respect for their hard work.
थक गया हूँ बोलते- बोलते, अब बस समाधान चाहता हूँ।
मैं किसी और के हक़ का नहीं बस अपनी मेहनत का सम्मान चाहता हूँ..।। #किसान_आंदोलन 🙏🙏
— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) December 6, 2020
Vinesh had also retweeted Olympic bronze medal-winning boxer Vijender Singh’s tweet expressing solidarity with farmers after they were lathi-charged in October. She also retweeted former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s tweet condemning the brutality on farmers during their rally in Kurukshetra.
Vinesh has won gold medals in 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth, and Asian Games besides a bronze in the 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships.
Babita is currently the deputy director in Haryana’s Sports and Youth Affairs Department. She, along with her father Mahavir Phogat, joined the BJP in August 2019.
She won a bronze medal at the 2012 World Wrestling Championships and also gold at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Also read: BKU (Ugrahan) — the outlier kisan union that the farmers’ protest cannot do without