Gadkari falls sick at event, sits down during national anthem
Solapur/Nagpur, Aug 1: In the latest health scare for Nitin Gadkari, the Union minister was on Thursday forced to sit down at a public event at Solapur in Maharashtra after feeling dizzy, his aide said.
The aide said doctors have attributed the "spell of dizziness" to a strong dose of antibiotics the minister took on Wednesday for a throat infection.
Later, after arriving in his hometown Nagpur, the 62- year-old BJP leader said he is "fine".
Gadkari felt dizzy while the national anthem was being played at the event, held at the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Solapur University, the aide said.
Gadkari was the guest of honour at the function.
Even as Gadkari was standing for the national anthem, he leaned towards his left a bit and sat down with the support of his security guards who were standing behind him, as per the video footage of the function.
Gadkari's aide told PTI that the minister felt "uneasy" and was later checked by a medical officer in Solapur.
"He was already feeling warm and felt uneasy due to the reaction of antibiotics he had taken. After the check-up, the doctor confirmed that his blood pressure and blood sugar level were normal," the aide said.
"He had some throat infection and he took a rather strong dose of antibiotics on Wednesday evening. The doctors told us that today's dizziness was caused by the dose," he said.
"Doctors have asked us not to worry about his health.
He will continue his tour," he said.
Later in the evening, Gadkari arrived at his residence in Nagpur.
Gadkari landed at the Nagpur airport at 6.45 pm.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was returning from Amravati after attending a rally organised as part of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's `Maha Janadesh Yatra' met Gadkari at the airport.
After coming out of the airport, Gadkari told waiting media persons that he is "fine".
This is not the first time the veteran BJP leader has fainted on stage during public events.
There have been a couple of incidents in the last several months where he fainted at public events, apparently due to low sugar levels.
In December last year, Gadkari had fainted during an event in Ahmednagar. He was about to fall down when Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao supported him, following which Gadkari was taken to hospital.
That incident happened during a convocation ceremony at the Mahatma Phule Agricultural University in Rahuri. The Union minister had addressed the gathering before the incident.
A few moments later, when the national anthem was being played, he fainted while trying to stand up.
In April this year, Gadkari fainted on stage while addressing an election rally near the temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district.
He had fainted while walking towards his seat on the dais during the rally held at Rahata for Shiv Sena candidate Sadashiv Lokhande.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
