Centre trying to divert attention from Bihar caste survey, says RJD's Manoj Jha
New Delhi/Srinagar (PTI): RJD leader Manoj Jha on Wednesday slammed the BJP-led Centre over the arrest of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and said the government is trying to distract people from the results of the Bihar caste survey.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also hit out at the BJP, saying the ruling party seems to be on a spree to arrest opposition leaders ahead of next year's general elections and accused it of destroying the level playing field.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided Singh's home in connection with a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy and later arrested him.
Jha said, "Sanjayji, our friend in the Rajya Sabha, has not been arrested just by the ED. He has been arrested by the BJP's ancillary organisations, which includes the ED, I-T (Income Tax department) and the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation)."
"The dark days have started. Yesterday (Tuesday), journalists linked with NewsClick were targeted, today Sanjayji was arrested. Meanwhile, look at the background, the caste survey report came out and the prime minister is hassled. They have to do headline management and also scare the opposition," he said.
The RJD leader also predicted that such actions will continue.
"They have no political instrument left ... They are targeting each and every opposition leader to scare us. The 'dictator' is scared himself," Jha said.
The Bihar government on Monday released the data of the caste-based survey. According the survey report, among the total population size of 13,07,25,310 (13.07 crore), Bihar has 63 per cent people in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) categories.
The survey found that Scheduled Castes (SC) constitute over 19 per cent of the state's population while 1 per cent of the people come under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.
Meanwhile, PDP chief Mehbooba alleged that central agencies are being misused and weaponised at the behest of the BJP.
She said in a post on X, "(The) ruling party seems to be on an arresting spree only to destroy whatever is left of the level playing field in the run-up to (the) general elections."
"Central agencies are being weaponised and misused on the BJPs behest. But then again its the same party that almost changed the name of this country owing to its insecurity about the INDIA alliance," she added.
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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.
