Jitan Ram Manjhi's video triggers fresh 'vote chori' row in Bihar
Patna (PTI): A row has erupted in Bihar over a video in which Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has purportedly spoken of having "helped" a candidate who was trailing by a narrow margin in an assembly poll.
The video, which seems to have been shot in Manjhi's Lok Sabha constituency of Gaya, has been shared by the opposition RJD-Congress combine, which was drubbed in the recently held elections, as "proof of vote chori" by the BJP-led NDA.
Manjhi, however, said the video was tampered with and shared on social media.
The former Bihar chief minister, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, can be heard speaking of an incident involving Tikari assembly segment, which his party's candidate Anil Kumar had won in 2020 but lost to RJD in the assembly polls held last month.
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Speaking in the local dialect Magahi, the octogenarian can be heard saying, "the candidate was trailing by 2,700 votes in the 2020 assembly polls. He called me up, and I telephoned the official concerned. Finally, he was declared the winner".
PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
"This time, the candidate lost by 1,600 votes. But instead of contacting me, he chose to concede defeat. The then DM of Gaya, who is now posted in Tripura, telephoned me to enquire what went wrong this time. I could have done nothing when the candidate chose to return home without contacting me", Manjhi can be heard as saying in the video.
The RJD, which may have wrested Tikari but has suffered a crash in its tally to only 25 from 75 five years ago, shared the video on its official X handle, claiming it as "the truth of the artificial popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi".
The opposition party alleged that Modi, aided by the Election Commission, had made in the recent elections, "an unsuccessful attempt at political assassination of our young and revolutionary leader Tejashwi Yadav".
Bihar Congress spokesman Asit Nath Tiwari echoed the sentiments and alleged, "Union home minister was all fire and brimstone inside Parliament recently while reacting to allegations of vote theft. Now, the confession of his cabinet colleague suggest that what is taking place is not vote chori but vote dacoity".
However, Manjhi came out with an angry post on his X handle claiming "a video of mine has been tampered with and shared on social media by those who think they can defame a son of a Musahar (a Mahadalit community)"
"I want to tell all such people that Manjhi has now become a brand. He is not going to be scared of anyone", added the Union minister.
When Bihar minister and former state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal was asked about the controversy, he said, "I have seen the unedited video. Manjhi was speaking about counting of votes having been stalled for several hours in 2020, after his candidate was trailing in the penultimate round by a small margin. After counting of votes was over, the candidate was declared".
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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.
