'PM in office since 12 years, Nehru spent same number of years in jail for country': Priyanka
New Delhi (PTI): Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday took on the BJP-led government during a debate on Vande Mataram in Lok Sabha, questioning its intention and asking it to address people's issues instead of delving into the past, while putting up a strong defence for Jawaharlal Nehru against attacks from the ruling side.
Here are some of the top quotes from Priyanka Gandhi's speech:
* This song has become a part of the nation's soul; it has resided in the hearts of the people of the country for 150 years.
* We are having this debate here today for two reasons. Firstly, the Bengal elections are approaching, and our Prime Minister wants to play his role in them. And the second reason is...that the government wants an opportunity to level new accusations against those who fought for freedom, who made great sacrifices for the country, and it wants to divert the country's attention from the burning issues of the people.
* The truth is that today Modi is no longer the Prime Minister he used to be. The truth is, it has become evident that his self-confidence is waning, his policies are weakening the country, and my colleagues in the ruling party are silent because, deep down, they too agree with this.
* The PM gives good speeches but he is weak on facts.
* Questioning the form of Vande Mataram, which was accepted by the Constituent Assembly, is not only an insult to those great personalities who made this decision with their profound wisdom, but also reveals an anti-constitutional intent.
* I want to give him (the PM) a small piece of advice -- whatever complaints you have against Nehru ji, whatever mistakes you think he made, whatever abuses you want to hurl, whatever insults you want to inflict, make a list of all of them... 999 insults, 9,999 insults, make a list, and then we will fix a time. We will ask the Speaker, we will fix a time – 10 hours, 20 hours, 40 hours, however many hours it takes for your complaints to be fully addressed... so that you are satisfied and we can have a debate. As they say in English, 'once and for all, let's close the chapter'. Let's close it. The country will hear what the complaints are -- what did Indira ji do, what did Rajiv ji do, what is dynastic politics; what mistakes did Nehru ji make. After that, the issues of the day like unemployment, inflation and women's problems should be discussed.
* Today's debate is being conducted merely to distract attention, because this government wants to hide the current reality of this country.
* The truth is that their rule is a rule of oppression, their politics is politics of event management, a politics from one election to the next, a politics of various distracting issues. Vande Mataram is the cry of those very hopes of this country that your government is rejecting every day.
* By making this great mantra of our nation's soul a subject of controversy, you are committing a big sin. The Congress party will not be a party to this. This national song, Vande Mataram, has always been dear to us, has always been sacred to us, and will forever remain sacred to us.
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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.
