Come Out And Condemn Violence: Jwala Gutta Asks Athletes To Speak Up

Ace shuttler and Arjuna awardee Jwala Gutta on Monday took to her Twitter account and asked Indian sports fraternity to wake up, “come out and condemn the violence” in the wake of protests against the amended citizenship act.

The former badminton star pointed directly towards her fellow sportspersons, mentioned “a lot of people dying,” adding that this is the “least they could do,” by supporting their fellow citizens in a peaceful protest. Till now, no sports players have come out and said anything about the after-effect of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Only Cricketer Harbhajan Singh asked for peaceful circumstances. “We are seeing the news and a lot of people are dying and I did not expect this. I request all the sportspersons of our country that we should come out and condemn violence,” an infuriated Gutta said in a video that was shared on Twitter.

“Come out and condemn violence,” the 36-year-old said.  “…violence against people and the people who are creating violence because we are the peace ambassadors of our country to the world and I think this is the least we could do,” she added.

Jwala, the 2011 World Championship women’s doubles bronze medallist, who has recently launched her own academy in Hyderabad, called her sports peers “peace ambassadors,” and hence appealed for peace when danger rising across the country.

Also Read: Seven facts to know about Indian Badminton player Jwala Gutta

Harbhajan Singh and Gutta are the few national level sportsperson to speak out.

A request to all my fellow athletes 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/nQbYaYoN4O

— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) December 23, 2019

Key Takeaways:

• Jwala Gutta asked her fellow sports starts to “come out and condemn the violence” in the wake of protests against the amended citizenship act.
• Calling her peers “peace ambassadors”, Jwala posted a video on Twitter saying, “We are seeing the news and a lot of people are dying and I did not expect this. I request all the sportspersons of our country that we should come out and condemn violence."
• “Come out and condemn violence,” she added.

The protests garnered traction in Assam and slowly spread through different parts of the country. People are coming on to the roads and protesting against the amended citizenship law, the government issued prohibitory orders.

In latest, Uttar Pradesh state witnessed death of 16 people and 263 police personnel were injured during anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests.

Earlier addressing a huge rally at the Ramlila Ground in Delhi on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged for no violence and also assured the minorities that they will not be affected by the CAA and the NRC.

Also Read: Jwala Gutta Opens Up About Cyber Harassment

The two-time Olympian voices her opinion time and again with issues concerning the sports industry and this time too, the 14-time feisty national champion is no less of a ‘Boss’ as she spoke up against CAA.

Gutta has made India proud by winning many medals at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Uber Cup. She is a two-time Olympian and a champion in the 2014 Glasgow Games in women’s doubles.

Feature Image Credit: deccanchronicle.com

Read More Stories By Ria Das