BJP minister doubts vote count in Bareilly, SP says return to paper ballot
New Delhi: A key minister in the Narendra Modi government has filed a complaint with the returning officer in his Bareilly Lok Sabha constituency, seeking a probe into an alleged error in counting of votes during the recent Lok Sabha polls.
The complaint by Santosh Gangwar, an eight-time MP and now Labour and Employment Minister, says that a particular booth in the Kali Bari locality did not vote in his favour, despite being a traditional Bharatiya Janata Party pocket. His complaint has now gone viral over social media in the UP.
Gangwar, who has won from Bareilly in all elections since 1989 except in 2009, filed his complaint on August 14 with District Magistrate Virendra Kumar Singh, the returning officer in the general elections.
In his complaint letter, the Minister said that in booth number 290 (Shishu Bal Sadan) located in Kali Bari, the BJP got only 5 votes while Congress 29 and Samajwadi Party 583.
Claiming that there seems to be a "chook" (error) during counting, he requested a probe into the matter.
Gangwar's aide Ramesh Chand Jain, who now looks after his constituency and had been Minister's additional Private Secretary earlier, told IANS that a letter in this connection has been written to the returning officer.
"The booth has always been a BJP pocket, but the numbers of votes in our favour present a different picture," said Jain, who is perceived to be Gangwar's closest aide in Bareilly.
On the other hand BJP's principal opponent in UP, the Samajwadi Party raked up the issue to raise questions on the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). After an unexpected drubbing at the hands of BJP in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the SP and its allies had raised doubts over EVMs.
"Gangwarji is a very honest and senior leader of the BJP. His complaint should be taken seriously. The SP requests Election Commission that all forthcoming polls in UP should revert to ballot boxes as EVMs credibility is being repeatedly questioned," said SP national spokesperson I.P. Singh.
Insiders in the BJP, however, said that Gangwar's complaint is not actually targeted at the counting procedure but his alleged rival Rajesh Agarwal, another prominent local leader of the BJP who is now Cabinet Minister in the state's Yogi Adityanath government.
Sources said that both Agarwal and Gangwar are not on good terms and the party leadership is also aware of this rivalry.
While Gangwar swept Bareilly, polling over 5.65 lakh votes, he failed to muster support in Kali Bari area where Agarwal resides. IANS tried to reach Agarwal for his comments but could not contact him.
The District Magistrate office in Bareilly confirmed that complaint has been received and a probe is on.
Courtesy: www.nationalheraldindia.com
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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.
