Indore collector draws flak for visiting RSS office; Cong calls him ‘BJP worker’
Indore (PTI): The Congress has criticised the collector of Indore for visiting the local office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, dubbing him a “BJP worker.
Indore, Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital and the country’s cleanest city for almost a decade now, is in the news for seven deaths due to water contamination in its Bhagirathpura area.
Collector Shivam Verma is “working like a BJP worker”, MP Congress president Jitu Patwari said on Thursday.
Verma, along with Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav, had visited the “Sudarshan” office in Pant Vaidya Colony here on Wednesday night and discussed various issues, including the Bhagirathpura contaminated water tragedy, with RSS Malwa prant pracharak Raj Mohan Singh, claimed Patwari.
Pictures and videos of the visit went viral on social media.
“Bhargav took Verma to the RSS office. The collector has shown he is not an administrative officer. He is working as a BJP member. If you go to the offices of political parties while on duty, remember, Congress workers will correct your working style,” Patwari said while addressing his colleagues in Sanwer.
“The collector should be working in his office, meeting with the chief secretary, and discussing matters with ministers and officials. People are dying in Indore, there is contaminated water everywhere, and the level of corruption is unimaginable. However, the collector is not working. He is going to the RSS office to mark his attendance for the BJP,” Patwari alleged.
Verma could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.
Amid claims by residents that 17 persons died due to water contamination, the MP government distributed compensation to 18 affected families on Tuesday.
Patwari himself had put the death toll at 20 in an X post.
Meanwhile, state minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who sparked a row with his remarks on the water contamination deaths, on Thursday held discussions with the BJP’s organisation general secretary Hitanand Sharma at the party office here.
Vijayvargiya did not speak to reporters after the discussion with Sharma.
Some leaders said Vijayvargiya had come to the state office as part of the regular programme for ministers to listen to the problems of party workers. Vijayvargiya also listened to the problems of the workers under this programme, they added.
Vijayvargiya, the state urban development minister, had landed in controversy for using objectionable language on camera regarding the Indore water-related incident.
After facing sharp criticism, he had expressed regret for his remarks. Bhagirathpura is part of Vijayvargiya's Indore-1 assembly constituency.
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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.
