Anti-govt: Samosas for Himachal Chief Minister served to his security staff, CID probe on
Shimla, Nov 7(PTI): Samosas and cakes meant for Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu were served to his security staff instead, the goof-up snowballing into controversy and necessitating a CID probe that termed it an "anti-government" act.
Those responsible acted according to their own agenda, a highly placed official in the CID said in his note on the October 21 incident when the chief minister was visiting the CID headquarters.
Attacking the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, the opposition BJP said the Sukhu dispensation is not concerned about the development of the state but its only concern seems to be the "Chief Minister's Samosa".
The brouhaha started when three boxes of the refreshments were brought from Hotel Radisson Blue in Lakkar Bazaar to be served to the chief minister who had gone to the CID headquarters to attend a function. However, the eatables were served to the CM security staff, according to the enquiry report conducted by a deputy SP rank officer.
The report stated that an officer of IG rank had asked a sub-inspector (SI) of police to get some eatables from the hotel for the CM's visit. The SI in turn directed an assistant SI (ASI) and a head constable to bring the refreshments.
The ASI and the head constable fetched the refreshments from the hotel in three sealed boxes and informed the SI.
The police officers in their statement said when they asked the tourism department staff on duty whether the snacks in the three boxes were to be served to the chief minister, they said they were not included in the menu.
The enquiry report said only the said SI, who deputed the ASI and the head constable with the task of getting the snacks from the hotel, was aware of the fact that the three boxes were for Sukhu.
The lady inspector, to whom the food items were handed over, did not ask any senior officer and sent the refreshments to the mechanical transport (MT) section which deals with refreshments.
The three boxes of refreshments exchanged several hands in the process.
Interestingly, a highly placed official in the CID department wrote in his noting that all persons named in the enquiry report have acted in anti-CID and anti-government manner due to which the items could not be served to the VVIPs.
They acted according to their own agenda, the note added.
The controversy has given the BJP an opportunity to slam the Sukhu government.
"The state government is not concerned about the development of the state and its only concern seems to be the 'Chief Minister's Samosa'," said BJP chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma in a statement issued here on Thursday.
He said the recent incident related to the samosas brought for Sukhu has given rise to a controversy. In the investigation, the mistake was termed as an "anti-government" act which is a big word, he said.
"This incident has become a topic of discussion in the political circles of Himachal Pradesh. In fact, the government machinery is embarrassed due to such coordination problems in a programme related to a VVIP like the chief minister," Sharma said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
