No immediate plan to withdraw troops from J&K: Union Minister
Hyderabad, Aug 22: The Centre has no immediate plans to withdraw security forces from Jammu and Kashmir, where Article 370 has been revoked, in view of the continued tension in the region, Minister of State for Home G Kishan has said.
"Why will we withdraw troops immediately from there when Pakistan is trying to provoke?
Pakistan is trying to provoke Kashmirs and disturb the peace so that it can go to international community (to complain). The decision on whether to withdraw or not will be taken by the local administration," Reddy told PTI when asked whether the centre had any plans to with additional forces.
He said the situation in J&K was peaceful now and Home Minister Amit Shah was regularly monitoring the situation.
Reddy pointed out that schools had opened, Section 144 had been withdrawn, government offices had started working and some of the controls imposed had been relaxed.
Internet and telephone services had also been restored, barring in a few districts (four or five), he said.
Asked why opposition leaders were not being allowed to hold meetings in the state, he said government has taken precautions in view of Pakistan's intentions and the opposition leaders should have patience.
"Pakistan would like to see peace disturbed in J&K to tell the world that the government of India's decisions vis-a-vis the state are wrong," he said.
"There is a lot of time. You can go to Jammu and Kashmir... Hold peace for some days. Let's see Pakistan's problem now. After that, Rahul Gandhi can hold any number of meetings. Who is saying no? Have patience," he said.
Asked for his comments on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the reports of violence, he said "small incidents" are not happening for the first time.
Now there was no "tense situation in Jammu and Kashmir", where there used to be months-long curfew with leaders jailed for years in the past as well, he said.
"This is not new. We took some decisions like imposing restrictions as a precautionary measure, keeping in view Pakistan's attempts to provoke and conspire to somehow disturb law and order in Jammu and Kashmir. Certainly not to inconvenience people," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here on Wednesday.
He said there had been instances in the past of imposition of curfew, enforcement of prohibitory orders, closure of schools for months and arrest of Chief Ministers. Compared to the past, no such decisions have been taken now, he said.
"Pakistan is hatching many conspiracies to prove before the world what the government of India has done is wrong.
Because today the whole world is in favour of India... because the world is standing by the decisions taken by the government of India in the matter of abrogation of Article 370," he said.
The government, Reddy said, was taking all precautionary measures as either the ISI or Pakistan government was trying to somehow disturb law and order "to prove that what the government of India has done is wrong".
Reddy said abrogation of Article 370 would have benefits like implementation of the Constitution and reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes coming into force in the state.
"Why are you in a hurry? On the one hand, Pakistan is making efforts to tell the world that there is no peace. Now the opposition also wants to go with Pakistan. This is wrong," he said.
Asked when political leaders would be released in Jammu and Kashmir and the appropriate time, he said the officers concerned would take a call on the matter.
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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.
