LIC employees stage lunch-hour demo in Visakhapatnam in support of protesting wrestlers

LIC employees staged a lunch-hour demo in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday seeking justice to women wrestlers protesting in New Delhi.

Employees of LIC, owning allegiance to the Insurance Corporation Employees’ Union (ICEU), Visakhapatnam, staged a lunch-hour demonstration demanding justice to wrestlers, who were seeking action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, BJP MP and president of Wrestling Federation of India, alleging that he had harassed them sexually, at the LIC Divisional Office here on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) district president B. Padma recalled that the women wrestlers have been agitating on the issue from January, this year. The government had failed to initiate action on the accused even after five months. The wrestlers began their dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi protesting against the inaction of the government and demanding immediate punishment of the accused. She said that these wrestlers had won Olympic and Commonwealth medals and brought laurels to the nation. They were now on a protest condemning the attitude of the Union government, she said.

Ms. Padma said that the men wrestlers were also supporting their cause, and several Olympians and players have extended their solidarity. She regretted that Indian cricketers have chosen to remain silent on the issue. She also criticised women Ministers and Parliamentarians for remaining silent on the issue. The Left parties, trade unions and women organisations across the country have extended their support to the women wrestlers, she said.

ICEU president M. Kameshwari, general secretary G. Varaprasad, and AP State Working Women convener G. Suryaprabha were among those who participated in the protest.