Priyanka Gandhi as Congress president will be a 'unifying force': Karan Singh
New Delhi, Aug 4: Amid growing voices calling for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to lead the Congress following Rahul Gandhi's resignation, veteran leader Karan Singh has said she will be a "unifying force" and will enthuse cadres if she takes on the mantle of party president.
He also said the Congress has "definitely been harmed" due to the indecision over the leadership issue and cautioned that remaining "headless" can be "seriously detrimental" to the party going forward.
In an interview to PTI, Singh agreed with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor's views aired recently that a young leader will be more suitable as a replacement of Rahul Gandhi.
"Baffled" over the "state of indecision" in the party, Singh on Saturday said there are some very senior people in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and they should have come together earlier and done something about the situation arising out of Rahul Gandhi's resignation.
"One cannot leave the party headless. It is not fair to the Congress," said Singh, a close associate of the Gandhi family who has been in the party for over 50 years.
Meanwhile, the party announced on Sunday that the CWC will meet on August 10. The party had said earlier that the CWC will meet after the Parliament session ends next Wednesday.
Asked about growing voices within the Congress calling for Priyanka Gandhi to take over as party chief, Karan Singh said it has to be her decision and if she agrees to take up the responsibility, he will welcome it.
She has to take a decision and can't be bulldozed into taking up the party presidency, the 88-year-old leader said.
Asked if Priyanka Gandhi would be a suitable candidate for Congress president, Singh said, "Considering the situation and considering that she belongs to this family, she will probably be a unifying force."
How well Priyanka Gandhi does as Congress president, remains to be seen, he added.
"She is a very intelligent young lady. She did well on the Sonbhadra issue when she went there (to meet victims of the massacre). She speaks well, she has got a good personality, carries herself well. So yes, if she agrees (to be Congress president), then why not," Singh said.
The former Union minister said Priyanka Gandhi will certainly be able to enthuse the people in the party and will be an asset as Congress chief.
Singh also asserted that the process for putting in place a new president should be strictly according to the party Constitution.
His remarks assume significance as they come after Amarinder Singh and Tharoor both backed Priyanka to throw her hat into the ring when the call for Congress presidency polls is made.
On their remarks about a young leader being more suitable to take on the mantle of party president, he said there has been a generational change in the country with which one has to adjust and accept.
"Therefore, prima facie if we can get a younger leader, it would be a good idea. I back their view if we get a suitable young leader. There must be a generational change. Rahul (as party chief) himself was a generational change," the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir said.
"Younger leaders across the board --for PCC presidents and so on -- have to be brought in. Other things being equal, I would prefer a younger leader (for party president's post)," he asserted.
Singh said the way forward for the party is to elect somebody as the interim leader.
"If Priyanka Vadra is agreeable, elect her, if not then elect somebody else. Then get on with the job (of electing the party president) according to the Congress constitution. They cannot carry on like this. This will be seriously detrimental to the party," he said.
Talking about the delay in the appointment of the Congress president, Singh said "definitely the Congress has been harmed" because a vast organisation like it cannot remain headless.
"I have made statements that it has been very clearly laid down in the Congress constitution that if such an exigency arises then the senior-most general secretary should deal with the routine tasks of the Congress president and the working committee should name an interim president until the AICC elects a new president," he said.
That process somehow doesn't seem to have happened, as a result of which over two months have passed now and there is no clarity about the Congress leadership, he said.
"We have a lot of eminent people in the Congress...but they don't seem to be able to get their act together, which I think is unfortunate," the veteran Congress leader said.
Singh said Rahul Gandhi's letter on July 3 made it very clear that he had already resigned.
"After all he is a very fine young man. He has got many years of politics ahead of him. If under the circumstances he made a decision that he wanted to resign, it is his decision, and we must honour that decision," Singh said.
"We wasted one month pleading with him to take back his resignation which I don't think was necessary because he is not a whimsical person that he will today make a decision and tomorrow take it back," Singh said.
On whether all top leadership positions in the party should be opened up for elections, Singh said the party should act as per the Constitution, with the CWC partially elected and partially nominated.
Singh asserted that the party needs a complete overhaul at all levels.
Gandhi had made it clear that he will not continue as president and neither will any member of his family be the next chief. The CWC has not accepted the resignation yet.
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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.
