BJP leader Babita Phogat calls Sakshi Malik 'Congress puppet', wrestler hits back | Wrestlers Protest

BJP leader Babita Phogat has reacted sharply to Sakshi Malik's video wherein the ace wrestler and her husband Satyawart Kadian clarified that their protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was not instigated by Congress.

Vehemently denying Malik's claims that she helped the wrestlers acquire permission for holding the protest at Jantar Mantar, the former wrestler and BJP politician issued a lengthy clarification on Twitter, where she wrote, 'I want to make it clear that the permission paper which my younger sister was showing did not have my signature or my name anywhere on it. There is no proof of consent and neither is it remotely my concern.'

Calling Sakshi 'a puppet in the hands of the Congress', Babita went on to slam the wrestler who is at the forefront of the protest, for deliberately involving Congress politicians Deepender Hooda & Priyanka Gandhi. She said, 'I was not in favour of this thing from the beginning of the protest'

In her response, Sakshi Malik who along with her Satyawart, had thanked Babita and another BJP politician Tirath Rana for bringing the wrestlers together for the protest against the then WFI chief, however, again clarified that it was instead a taunt on the duo.

In her Tweet, Sakshi wrote, 'In the video, we taunted Tirath Rana and Babita Phogat, how they were trying to use wrestlers for their selfishness and how when the wrestlers were in trouble, they went and sat on the lap of the government'

Sakshi, in her 11-minute-long video, said that her fight is not against the government but against the WFI and Brij Bhushan. The Rio Olympics medallist said she was hoping to clear the doubts surrounding the protest's motivation and the alleged involvement of Congress, stating that it were BJP's Tirath Rana and Babita Phogat who helped them get the permission papers.

In the video, the couple showcased the permission paper which although mentioned Babita Phogat and Tirath Rana's names, had only Rana's signature on it.