कांग्रेस के नये अध्यक्ष नियुक्त हुए पहलवान बजरंग पुनिया



In a major development, Olympian wrestler Bajrang Punia was on Friday appointed as the Working President of the All India Kisan Congress. The official letter issued by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said, "The Hon'ble Congress President has approved the proposal to appoint Shri Bajrang Punia as the Working President of the All India Kisan Congress with immediate effect." The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, in a post on X, thanked Congress president Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal for the new role assigned to him, saying: "I would like to thank our President Shri Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for entrusting me with this important responsibility.

I will stand shoulder to shoulder with the farmers facing crisis, support their struggles and work as a dedicated soldier of the organisation. Jai Kisan." The appointment, which comes after Punia and his fellow wrestler Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress on Friday afternoon, is being seen as a significant move in view of the October 5 assembly elections in Haryana. The wrestler duo met Congress president Kharge at his residence on Friday afternoon and then formally joined the party at the party headquarters in Delhi.

After the meeting, Kharge wrote on Instagram, "Chak de India, Chak de Haryana! Met our talented champions Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia who have made India proud in the world. We are proud of you both." The two Olympians, who were prominent faces of last year's protests against alleged sexual harassment and intimidation of women wrestlers by former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, on Wednesday met Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. Speaking at the party office after joining the Congress, Phogat said when times are bad, only then do people realise who really stands with them. Punia said the Congress supported the wrestlers during their protests without even asking, while BJP MPs ignored their letters seeking support.