Godse's followers might kill me for stand on Art 370: Asaduddin Owaisi
Hyderabad, Aug 14: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said he might be killed by the followers of Nathuram Godse, who shot Mahatma Gandhi dead, since he was against the recent decision of the Centre to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir, which gave a special status to the state.
He also alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to change Kashmir's demography through delimitation of Assembly constituencies to have its own chief minister.
Asked about the allegations that comments made by politicians like him helped Pakistan's propaganda, Owaisi told reporters here that such charges (against him) were not new.
"My belief is that somebody would shoot me one day. The followers of Godse can do so with me...If Mahatma Gandhi was shot, who is Owaisi. As long as I am alive, allegations would continue to be made," he said, while asserting that he had nothing to do with Pakistan.
Asked if he thought delimitation would happen in Kashmir, the Hyderabad MP said, "They want to do it. That is what the Election Commission said. The whole idea is to change the demography of Kashmir. The whole idea is to have a non-Muslim chief minister from the BJP only."
"That is why, this is a step in changing the demography of that state and that is why it has been bifurcated," he added and asserted that Kashmir was an integral part of India and would remain so.
Owaisi alleged that the BJP had love for Kashmir, but not for Kashmiris.
When pointed out that the conditions prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir were special, he said the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19 and other articles of the Constitution could not be taken away.
"This government has forgotten constitutionalism," he said.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief also claimed that the government would remove certain special provisions in states like Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and Himachal Pradesh.
"I am telling the people of Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam that it will happen there. These people would remove (special provisions) in Himachal also...," he said.
On the BJP raising the issue of the day of merger of the erstwhile Hyderabad state of the Nizam with the Indian Union (September 17, 1948) not being celebrated officially, Owaisi said he felt proud that Hyderabad became part of the Indian Union.
"About 10 lakh jobs would be lost in the automobile industry, but the 'liberation day' is being talked about," he said.
Addressing an Eid Milap meeting at his party office late on Tuesday, Owaisi said the government's decision to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh -- was against the principles of federalism as the state Assembly's views should have been taken before implementing such a decision.
Referring to actor Rajinikanth's comments lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as Lord Krishna and Arjuna, he said, "Who are the Pandavas in this? Who are the Kauravas? So you would like to make Kashmir the Mahabharata? One actor has said, the other actors are happy. Feel happy."
The Congress in Tamil Nadu had also ridiculed Rajinikanth for his comments, asking him to "read the Mahabharata properly".
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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.
