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Former Chief Minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said that fielding Vinesh Phogat in the upcoming Assembly election is Congress party\u2019s token of gratitude for the Olympian wrestler\u2019s services to the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Phogat is Congress party\u2019s candidate from Julana seat for the October 5 polls. \u201cVinesh has been unfairly treated. I had told the BJP to nominate her to the Rajya Sabha as a brave face of our country. They did not do that. She needed consolation, a sort of morale booster,\u201d Hooda said in an interview with Hindustan Times<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe have made her our candidate in appreciation, as a token of gratitude for her services to the country and the sport despite the odds, the public humiliation she faced,\u201d the Congress leader said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Vinesh Phogat\u2019s candidature has elicited criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with many leaders calling her a Congress leader, and not the country\u2019s daughter who was \u2018wrongly denied\u2019 an Olympic medal.In fact, Vinesh\u2019s cousin and BJP leader, Babita Phogat accused Hooda of causing rift in the Phogat family by fielding her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n All 90 seats of Haryana will vote in a single phase on October 5. The counting of votes will be held on October 8. Phogat filed her election nomination papers on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Vinesh and Bajrang Punia, another wrestler, joined the Congress party on September 6. While Vinesh got a ticket, Punia was given a position in Kisan Congress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hooda said there is no political vested interest in fielding Vinesh. \u201cShe would\u2019ve won gold. She is already 30 years old. In celebrating her, we\u2019re celebrating a doughty daughter of India,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Vinesh reached the final of the women’s 50kg event at theParis Olympicslast monthbut was disqualified before the final after breaching the 50kg weight limit. A day after her disqualification, she announced her decision to retire from wrestling. She also made a plea to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to award her a joint silver medal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n‘No Political Interest’<\/h2>\n