Standing in solidarity with the protesting farmers against the Centre’s contentious farm laws, Olympic medal-winning boxer Vijender Singh on Sunday, December 6, threatened to return his Khel Ratna award if the demands of the farmers are not met.
The 35-year-old boxer who hails from Haryana’s Bhiwani addressed a gathering of farmers at the protest site at the state’s border with Delhi at Singhu. He said that he would return his Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna which is the country’s highest sporting honour if the government doesn’t withdraw the ‘black laws’.
The 2008 bronze medallist has recently joined the list of several players, including Padma Shri and Arjuna awardees, who have said they would return their awards in support of the farmers’ agitation against the central government’s three farm laws.
If the government doesn’t withdraw the black laws, I’ll return my Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award – the highest sporting honour of the nation: Boxer Vijender Singh #FarmLaws https://t.co/8Q5fVEmncC pic.twitter.com/imTATDZCei
— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2020
Boxer Vijender Singh joins the farmers’ agitation at Singhu border (Haryana-Delhi border).The farmers’ protest at Singhu border, against Central Government’s Farm laws, entered 11th day today. pic.twitter.com/uMOZLIyRU9
— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2020
‘Enough is enough, if the government does not listen to the demands of the farmers, then I have decided that as a show of solidarity, I will return my Khel Ratna,’ he said, reported The Times of India.
‘I come from a family of farmers and army men, I can understand their pain and anxiety. It is high time that the government pays heed to their demands,’ he added.
Thousands of farmers have been braving the odds and camping along Delhi’s borders, protesting against the new farm laws passed by the Narendra Modi government. A number of talks between the Centre and the farmers have already taken place without any solution.
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