4 MPs of Uddhav faction to face legal action for absence during voting on women's reservation bill
Mumbai (PTI): The Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said legal action will be initiated against four Lok Sabha members of the rival faction for "defying" the party whip by remaining absent during voting on the women's reservation bill last week.
A day before, the Shiv Sena had issued a notice to these four MPs.
Although the Shiv Sena split following Shinde's rebellion last year, the four MPs owing allegiance to Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray are technically still its members in the Lower House of Parliament
Shiv Sena's legislative party leader Rahul Shewale said a letter has been submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for further action.
In the notice, Shewale stated MPs Vinayak Raut, Rajan Vichare, Omraje Nimbalkar and Sanjay Jadhav defied the party whip despite a directive to vote in favour of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023.
The Lok Sabha passed the bill granting reservation to women on one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies with 454 members voting in favour and two against it.
The whip was issued by Shinde-led Shiv Sena on September 14 asking its MPs to remain present in the House during the special session of Parliament from September 18 to 22.
"Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has recognised Bhavana Gawli as the whip. There is no case pending regarding this in any high court or Supreme Court. The recognition of the whip is official and it is applicable to all 19 MPs," Shewale said.
He said Nimbalkar and Jadhav were present in Delhi and yet they remained absent for voting on the bill.
"The real face of the UBT faction has been exposed," he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab said it has to be first decided whose whip is valid.
The notice issued on Tuesday to four MPs said, "Your absence from Parliament during the special session itself shows your seriousness in matters pertaining to national interest."
Earlier, when Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut was asked about the possibility of Shinde's side issuing a whip (notice) to the four MPs for not attending the discussion and voting on the bill, the Rajya Sabha member said, "It is a trivial matter for us that they would issue a whip (notice) against four of our Lok Sabha members."
Raut added, "They (Shinde group lawmakers) should first know that none of them is going to win the next election."
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
