New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS): Senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain on Saturday criticised Indian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia for joining Congress ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections.

The wrestlers' entry into politics has sparked widespread debate, with BJP accusing Congress of orchestrating the wrestlers' 2023 protest against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).

Hussain expressed confidence that the BJP would still win the upcoming elections despite the wrestlers' involvement with Congress.

"They are wrestlers, but now they will only fight for Congress," he said, adding that the Congress was always part of the protest.

Hussain pointed out that both wrestlers now carry the Congress symbol, and one has been entrusted with organisational duties.

He stated that this development confirms the speculation that Congress was aligned with them all along.

Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, the prominent faces of protest against a BJP parliamentarian charged with sexually harassing women wrestlers, on Friday, joined the Congress here in the run-up to the Haryana Assembly elections on October 5.

The development comes two days after the wrestlers met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.

Phogat will contest the election from Julana, the seat held by the Jannayak Janta Party's Amarjeet Dhanda, while Punia was appointed the Working Chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.

Regarding Home Minister Amit Shah's recent statement on Article 370, the BJP leader fully supported the stance, emphasising that the Article, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has been permanently removed.

He said that Congress lacks the courage to promise its reinstatement, adding that Congress' ally, the National Conference (NC), is misleading people by focusing on the article rather than development.

Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks on restoring full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, Hussain dismissed them as "hollow promises" typical of the Congress, asserting that the country has grown weary of their unfulfilled commitments.

Hussain also commented on Rahul Gandhi's foreign trips, stating, "We will see what he says on this trip because whenever he goes abroad, he says something degrading about the nation."