'I am not Zaira Wasim, will continue to fight', says Babita Phogat on controversial tweets on Tablighi Jamaat
Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, April 17
“I have said nothing wrong, I always speak the truth,” said Commonwealth gold medallist wrestler Babita Phogat in a clip, referring to her statement that ‘Jamaati’ is a bigger threat to India than coronavirus on Friday.
Now, Phogat has tweeted a video defending her point of view. Along with a clip, Phogat tweeted in Hindi: “Coronavirus is the second biggest problem in India, uncivilised Jamaat, however, are India’s number one.”
Phogat begins by saying that she has been receiving a lot of hate messages on social media platforms for tweeting about those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation.
“I am not Zaira Wasim that you can scare me with your threats. I am Babita Phogat and I have and will continue to fight for my country,” said Phogat.
She goes on to say that there is nothing wrong about what she had tweeted and that she still stands by it.
“If the Tablighi Jamaat people hadn’t spread coronavirus, the lockdown would have been lifted by now and we would have defeated the virus already,” she further added.
यदि आप बबीता फोगाट को सपोर्ट करते हैं तो उन तक यह बात जरूर पहुंचा दीजिए और उनको बोलिए ध्यान से कान खोल कर सुन लें। pic.twitter.com/gqec3lQwPE
— Babita Phogat (@BabitaPhogat) April 17, 2020
Phogat ends the video by saying that she has always believed in speaking the truth and will continue to do so.
#SuspendBabitaPhogat trended on the Twitter site this morning as many users criticised her remarks. Some of her supporters, however, countered the trend with the hashtag “#ISupportBabitaPhogat”.
Earlier, Phogat sparked a controversy after she linked coronavirus pandemic to the Islamic sect with a controversial hashtag on Twitter.
National Award-winning actor Zaira Wasim had played the role of Babita’s sister—Geeta—in “Dangal”, the biopic based on the life of Phogat sisters and their father Mahavir Singh Phogat, also a wrestler.
Last year, she had announced her exit from Bollywood that triggered a huge debate.
This comes after netizens demanded that Twitter takes action against Phogat for spreading hate and comparing her to Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut’s sister, Rangoli Chandel whose Twitter account was suspended on Thursday.
