Govt move on Article 370 'murder of democracy', 'attack' on Indian constitution: Left parties
New Delhi: The Left parties on Monday lashed out at the government for revoking Article 370, saying that it was the "murder of democracy" and will serve to only to further "alienate" the people of the region.
The government on Monday abolished the article that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir and moved a separate bill to bifurcate the state into two separate union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
"What the government has done is regressive and will further alienate the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This is the murder of democracy," CPI general secretary D Raja said.
The CPI(M) termed the move an "attack" on the Constitution and said the Left parties will hold a protest against the move on Monday.
"This is an attack on the Indian Constitution by scrapping Article 370 and dismantling the state of Jammu and Kashmir. They will be led by the central leadership of these parties," the party said.
Demanding that the government "end the seige in Kashmir", CPI-ML Liberation party tweeted that the government through its decision had ended the last bridge between the state and the constitution.
"By effectively scrapping #Article370 and 35A, the Modi govt has burnt the constitutional & historical bridge that connected J&K with the rest of India. The govt's obsession with setting the clock back is pushing the country back into the turbulence of the 1940s," tweeted CPI-ML Liberation from its official handle.
"Governance by conspiracy and coup: that's democracy under the Modi-Shah duo ploy! Like the 500 and 1000 rupee notes, Article 370 and the entire spirit of the Constitution has been junked today," it alleged.
Raja said that the government's move in Jammu and Kashmir was an attempt to try and distract people from the state of the economy which is in a bad way.
"Instead of discussing the economic policies, they are diverting the attention of the people and creating panic in the country in the name of nationalism. The present government is RSS controlled and they are following the agenda of dismantling J&K piece by piece," said Raja.
Article 370 of the Constitution granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir whereby provisions of the Constitution which are applicable to other states are not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.
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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.
