Kamal Haasan tweets about one-month of wrestlers’ protest, asks ‘who really deserves our attention’

Kamal Haasan is the latest celebrity to bring to attention the ongoing protest by the wrestling community in India. The veteran actor spoke up about the issue on social media as the protest hit the one month mark. The head of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been accused of sexual harassment by a number of female wrestlers and the wrestling community as a whole is planning to a candle march from Jantar Mantar to India Gate in Delhi on Tuesday evening. (Also read: Vidyut Jammwal on wrestlers’ protest: ‘First they are citizens of this country, should be given required help’)

On Twitter, the actor wrote, “Today marks 1 month of protests by athletes of the wrestling fraternity. Instead of fighting for national glory, we have forced them to fight for personal safety. Fellow Indians, who deserves our attention, our national sporting icons or a politician with an extensive criminal history? #IStandWithMyChampions #WrestlersProtest.”

Many fans also backed Kamal with the hashtag ‘I Stand With My Champions’. One fan shared, “When most of the prominent Bollywood artists and celebrities have stayed silent on this issue, #KH is the only biggest star to come forward and support our national icons for their justice. #KamalHaasan.” Another stated, “Thank you Leader. Our national sporting icons deserve the attention and justice #IStandWithMyChampions #WrestlersProtest.”

Pooja Bhatt, Sonu Sood, Gauahar Khan, Vidyut Jammwal and Swara Bhasker are some of the other celebrities that have supported the wrestlers and amplified their pleas since their protest began last April. Vidyut had said at an event, “They are our athletes and troubled, but first, they are the citizens of the country. They should be given the required help. I think the authorities are listening to them, but what next? What are they doing about their concerns? I am an athlete and I have a feeling if they would listen to them and things will change now. They’ll do what’s right.”

Kamal formed the political party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) in 2018 in Tamil Nadu. He was last seen in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Vikram last year. He starred in the action thriller with Fahadh Faasil, Vijay Sethupathi and Kalidas Jayaram. Suriya also had a cameo in the film.

The actor is currently working on the long-delayed Indian 2. The S Shankar film also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Siddharth, Rakul Preet Singh and Gulshan Grover.