Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia join Congress

Olympic wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joined the Congress party on Friday ahead of next month's Haryana Assembly polls. The wrestlers met Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi before addressing a press briefing where party leader KC Venugopal announced their induction.Speaking after joining the Congress, Phogat said she was proud to be inducted into the party that supports women. "I thank the Congress party. We know very well who supported us genuinely during our bad times. When we were being dragged on the roads (during the wrestlers' protest), all other parties were us, except for the BJP," she said.
Bajrang Punia said that he will work hard to strengthen the Congress party and the nation. He also targeted the BJP, accusing it of supporting those who commit atrocities against women.Punia and Phogat were also part of the protest by wrestlers over sexual harassment allegations against former BJP MP and then Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh last year.In her resignation letter to the Indian Railways, Phogat said that serving the railways has been a memorable and proud time in her life.