Delhi DyCM, others jailed in excise policy case, turn of 'kingpin' will also come: Anurag Thakur
Raipur (PTI): Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said the deputy chief minister of Delhi and others have landed up in jail in connection with an excise policy case and the turn of its "kingpin", who is still out, will also come.
Talking to reporters at the Swami Vivekananda airport in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur, Thakur targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, claiming that those who were elected to power by raising the slogan of "India against corruption" have now been found steeped in corruption.
The Union youth affairs and sports minister arrived here to attend a couple of events.
AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh was on Wednesday arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case.
Asked about Kejriwal's allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Singh's arrest, Thakur said, "People are laughing at Arvind Kejriwal ji and tension can be seen on his face. They are those people who came by raising the slogan of 'India against corruption' and are now found steeped in corruption".
In Punjab, it (AAP) got elected to power and within two months, the state health minister had to resign due to corruption, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.
"Kejriwal ji has no answer to the liquor scam that has brought shame to him. So far, the deputy chief minister (of Delhi) and others have gone to jail, but the kingpin is still out. The probe is underway and the turn of the kingpin will also come," Thakur said.
The persons to whom Kejriwal had distributed "certificates of honesty" are in jail since the last one year. Who gave him the right to distribute the certificates? he said.
"Agli kiski baari hai, ye media ke headline banne ki tayyari hai (whose turn is next is going to be the media's headline)," he added.
Thakur also targeted the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, where the assembly elections are due later this year.
"Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are the two states where officers close to the chief minister faced serious allegations of corruption and crores of rupees and gold were recovered from them. They (CM) should have been resigned. But they haven't stepped down yet. Now people will oust them (in the upcoming assembly elections)," he said.
Asked about the caste survey done by the Bihar government, Thakur mentioned that PM Modi has said his government is for the poor, down- trodden and those exploited.
"The biggest community is of the poor and we have to bring them out of poverty. In the last nine years of Modi ji's government, 18.5 crore people in the country have been pulled out of below poverty line," he said.
Statistics show how much works have been done for welfare of the poor in the country. When the Congress and its allies did not have an answer to it, they resorted to the caste issue, he claimed.
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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.
