Ritu Phogat comes out in support of farmers Indian wrestler-turned-mixed martial arts fighter Ritu Phogat Saturday joined the list of celebrities speaking on the ongoing farmers protest in the country saying that ‘farmers deserve the right to farm their land and survive’.
Voicing her support, Ritu said, “Happy to see so many supporting the #FarmersProtest in New Delhi. These farmers deserve the right to farm their land and survive. Let’s stand with them! #standwithfarmers”
Happy to see so many supporting the #FarmersProtest in New Delhi. These farmers deserve the right to farm their land and survive. Let’s stand with them!
— Ritu phogat (@PhogatRitu) February 6, 2021
Her comments came after the Ministry of External Affairs reacted sharply to tweets by Rihanna, teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and others on the protests. Rihanna, who has 100 million followers on Twitter, on Tuesday posted, “Why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest,” linking a CNN report.
why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest https://t.co/obmIlXhK9S
— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 2, 2021
Thousands of farmers have been camping at several Delhi border points since November last year, demanding the government to repeal the three farm laws and legal guarantee of MSP for their crops. Sites of the farmer protest at Delhi’s borders have turned into fortresses with the police beefing up security and putting up multi-layer barricades.
Ritu, the third daughter of former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, won the gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in Singapore in the 48 kg category. The following year, she won a silver medal at the prestigious World Under-23 Wrestling Championships in Poland, becoming the first female Indian wrestler to do so in the process.
She was expected to represent India at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but she shocked the wrestling world when she announced that she was switching her focus to mixed martial arts instead.
Meanwhile, former and current India cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma along with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal were criticised for supporting the government’s call on standing against “propaganda” regarding the ongoing farmers’ protest.