CWC to meet again at 8 pm to select new party chief after Rahul declines to stay on
New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet on Saturday evening, the second time in the day, during which it is likely to take a final call on a new party president, after Rahul Gandhi rejected its unanimous appeal to reconsider his May 25 resignation.
The party's top decision-making body will reconvene at 8 pm to discuss reports of five groups, formed earlier in the day, and scrutinize the names of the potential successor to Rahul Gandhi.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi recused themselves from the process saying they they cannot be part of the consultations as they have been Congress presidents in the past and would not like the opinion of the party leaders to be influenced in any manner.
At 11 am, the Congress' top brass, including ex-prime minister Manmohan Singh, party general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ahmed Patel, A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad and P Chidambaram, went into a huddle at the All India Congress Committee headquarters here.
The CWC decided to have consultations with leaders from across the country and it was divided into five groups for different regions -- northeast, east, north, west and south.
The CWC group for the northeast region included top party leaders such as Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat. The group for eastern region included AICC general secretary (organisaton) K C Venugopal, ex-Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and former Union minister Kumari Selja.
The northern region group included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jyotiraditya Scindia and P Chidambaram. The western region group was has leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, A K Antony and Motilal Vora.
The group for the southern region included Manmohan Singh, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik. The five groups were formed to hold wider consultations with party leaders from across the country that included state unit chiefs, parliamentarian and Congress Legislative Party leaders.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his deputy Sachin Pilot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Puducherry CM V Narayansamy were also part of the consultation process.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said several leaders who could not make it to New Delhi have been consulted over phone. The five groups will place their final report before the CWC at 8 pm.
The CWC is yet to accept Rahul Gandhi's resignation and began its meeting by urging him to continue as party chief in the wake of the BJP's "onslught on democracy and dissent," Surjewala said.
It, however, proceeded with the deliberations on the party's next chief after Rahul Gandhi made it clear that he will not take back his resignation.
Party sources said most leaders rooted for Rahul Gandhi to continue or Priyanka Gandhi to be made Congress president, signalling a deep divide in the party over who could lead it in these "trying times".
Narayansamy told reporters, "I told them that Rahul Gandhi should continue as AICC president. They asked me for an alternative, but I said there is none. We have to persuade him to withdraw his resignation because he is the only leader who can carry the party forward and strengthen it."
Rahul Gandhi has already said the next party chief should be a non-Gandhi, making the task of Congress leaders difficult. He said that he will spend the next two days in his constituency Wayanad in flood-hit Kerala.
The delay in selecting the new party chief, sources say, is rooted in the fact that there is lack of consensus on the name of a non-Gandhi president.
"We cannot be part of this process of selecting the new party chief," Sonia Gandhi said as she along with Rahul Gandhi recused themselves from the consultation process.
Clarity on the issue is expected by tonight, with Surjewala saying, "There is a sense that this impasse should end as soon as possible, which is why the CWC will meet again at 8 pm to take a call."
He said Rahul Gandhi, while refusing to continue as party chief, asked the CWC to broad-base the consultation process and engage state chiefs, CLP leaders, MPs, and AICC secretaries.
"The CWC will meet at 8 pm and decide on the new party chief," Surjewala said.
"Both Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi felt that if a democratic process is to be obtained, then they have to recuse themselves. Sonia Gandhi said her presence is not required so that the process remains transparent and uninfluenced. That's why they recused themselves," he said.
A number of partymen have expressed their opinion in public, that the delay in selecting the new Congress chief is harming the party.
As the Congress began the process of finding Rahul Gandhi's successor, senior party leader Shashi Tharoor said on Saturday the new chief should be a person who can energise the party's organisation and inspire the voters, asserting that the Congress cannot afford "business as usual".
"For those following the #CWC meet to decide on a new @INCIndia President: My position remains what I first articulated more than a month ago: CWC should choose an Interim President asap (as soon as possible), then resign & announce open elections for both President & CWC," the Thiruvananthapuram MP tweeted.
The party has also been grappling with a series of desertions by leaders in Karnataka and Maharashtra, the latest being that by ex-Congress Rajya Sabha chief whip Bhubaneswar Kalita and MP Sanjay Singh.
With elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana coming up, the party is hoping to resolve the leadership issue quickly and move forward.
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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.
