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Former Indian wrestler and BJP leader Babita Phogat accused senior Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda as her cousin and wrestler Vinesh Phogat joined the national party. Phogat accused Hooda for creating a ‘rift’ in their family and ‘breaking the Phogat family’. Notably, Vinesh, who became the first Indian female wrestler to make it to the final round of Olympics, announced her retirement from the sport a day after she was disqualified from the gold-medal bout at Paris 2024.
A few days after returning to India, Vinesh met Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and joined Congress party. The decision came as a surprise to many, especially her cousin and BJP leader Babita Phogat. Babita said that Vinesh took a hasty decision and went on to blame Bhupinder Hooda for the same. Babita was quoted by India Today as saying, “Bhupinder Hooda succeeded in creating a rift in the Phogat family. People will teach him a lesson. The Congress's agenda has been to divide and rule. They have always worked to break families.”
Mahavir Singh Phogat expresses disappointment with Vinesh’s decision
Earlier, Vinesh’s first coach and uncle Mahavir Singh Phogat expressed his disappointment with the wrestler’s decision of quitting her career and joining politics. He said that they all wanted her to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and fight for gold. Mahavir had told IANS, “Vinesh should have played at the LA Olympics but now that she has moved to politics, we have started preparing Sangeeta Phogat for the 2028 Games. She will bring a medal for India. Because of the Jantar Mantar protest, Sangeeta missed nationals. Babita Phogat’s knees are not fine, so there is no point in her coming back to the mat.”
He added, “I wanted Vinesh to prepare herself for the 2028 Olympics. The decision Vinesh has made to contest the elections is entirely up to her and her husband (Somvir). We had no desire for her to enter politics. I am not happy with her decision to join politics. The entire nation was expecting Vinesh to bring home the gold in 2028, and I was hoping for the same.”
Mahavir, who happens to be the father of Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat, concluded by saying, “She entered politics, might become a legislator or even a minister, but if she had won a gold medal in the Olympics, it would be remembered for life.”
