Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 PM amid protests by treasury over 'threat' to PM Modi's life
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha witnessed uproar on Monday over the issue of alleged threatening slogans raised at a Congress rally against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading to adjournment of proceedings.
The Lok Sabha was first adjourned till 12 noon and then till 2 PM as BJP and Congress members were locked in a verbal duel on the issue.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju condemned the alleged slogans raised at a Congress rally here on Sunday and demanded an apology from the top leadership of the main opposition party.
"We are political opponents, not enemies. Congress workers have threatened to dig the grave of the prime minister at the Congress rally. This is the most unfortunate incident to happen," Rijiju said as the Lok Sabha convened for the day at 11 am, triggering protests from the Congress members.
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"Congress should now tender an apology for giving threat to the prime minister," Rijiju said.
Amid the turmoil, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings till 12 noon.
At the Congress rally, slogans of "digging Modi's grave" (Modi teri kabr khudegi) were reportedly raised by an attendee.
When the House re-assembled at 12 noon, Congress members were in the Well raising slogans against Home Minister Amit Shah.
BJP member Dilip Saikia, who was in the chair, allowed tabling of parliamentary papers and assured the Congress members that he would allow them to raise their issues after the Zero Hour mentions.
With members unrelenting in their protests, Saika adjourned the proceedings till 2 PM.
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Earlier, when the House met at 11 am after the weekend break, Birla first paid tributes to three former members of the House -- Subhash Ahuja, Prof Salahuddin, and Bal Krishna Chauhan --who passed away in the recent past.
As soon as the obituary references were over, the members of the treasury benches were on their feet protesting against the alleged threat to the prime minister.
Rijiju said in 2014 when an MP made certain remarks against the opposition, the prime minister had directed him to tender an apology and accordingly he did that.
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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.
