NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over wrestler Vinesh Phogat leaving her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award on the national capital's Kartavya Path, saying the PM is the guardian of the nation and it hurts to see "such cruelty" on his part.

Gandhi's attack came a day after multiple World Championship medallist Phogat returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award, keeping the two awards lying in the middle of Kartavya Path after the Delhi Police stopped her from reaching the prime minister's office.

Phogat, along with Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, had protested against the election of Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who had been accused of sexual harassment by the three well-known grapplers.

Sharing a video of Phogat at the Kartavya Path, Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, "For every daughter of the country, self-respect comes first, any other medal or honour comes after that."

"Has the price of 'political benefits' received from a 'proclaimed Bahubali' exceeded the tears of these brave daughters? The Prime Minister is the guardian of the nation, it hurts to see such cruelty on his part," the former Congress chief said.

On Tuesday, Phogat decided to return her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award to the government, saying such honours have become meaningless at a time when wrestlers are struggling to get justice. Phogat had announced her decision in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Saturday, she attempted to reach the prime minister's office to return her awards but the police prevented her from reaching the PMO. As a mark of protest, she left the awards at the Kartavya Path and they were later picked up by the Delhi Police.

Sakshi Malik has also announced her retirement from wrestling soon after Sanjay Singh was appointed WFI Chief.

However, the Sports Ministry later suspended the newly-elected panel for not following the provisions of its constitution while making decisions and asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute an ad-hoc panel to manage the affairs of the sports body.

Acting on the sports ministry directive, the IOA on Wednesday constituted a three-member ad hoc committee to run the day-to-day affairs of the WFI.