Cong leaders need not be afraid of ED if they are clean: BJP Rajasthan president Joshi
Jaipur (PTI): BJP Rajasthan president C P Joshi on Thursday took a swipe at Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over his claim that central agencies were being misused, saying Congress leaders need not be afraid of the Enforcement Directorate if they are clean.
Earlier in the day, the ED raided the premises of state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and Omprakash Hudla, the party's candidate from the Mahua seat, as part of a money laundering probe into the exam paper leak case. It also summoned Vaibhav Gehlot for questioning in a case related to alleged contravention of the foreign exchange law.
Slamming the ED action, Gehlot accused the BJP of unleashing "terror" in the country and said the misuse of probe agencies was not justified.
Responding to the chief minister's allegation, Joshi asked, "Why are they afraid if they are not in the wrong?"
He said Congress leader Gopal Kesawat was arrested by the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau but the agency later removed the sections pertaining to corruption from the case.
Joshi said papers were leaked during the Congress rule and youths were betrayed.
"They (Congress leaders) have committed the sin of leaking papers and destroying the dreams of lakhs of youths. The youths are not getting justice," the BJP leader alleged.
He was speaking at a press conference at the party office here on the completion of a public outreach programme to gather suggestions from people regarding the party manifesto.
Joshi said that people have expressed confidence in the BJP and have given 1.03 crore suggestions.
He added that the campaign was launched earlier this month by party president J P Nadda, who flagged off 51 'raths' having suggestion boxes attached to them.
The BJP's convener of the manifesto committee Arjun Ram Meghwal said suggestion boxes have returned and the party's manifesto for the November 25 Rajasthan assembly polls will be prepared on the basis of the suggestions.
He said the party's office bearers and leaders have also given their suggestions for the manifesto.
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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.
