Punjab CM, Speaker must resign for calling 'illegal' session: Congress leader Partap Bajwa
Chandigarh (PTI): Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, Saturday sought the resignation of Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on moral grounds for "squandering" money from the state exchequer on an "illegal" house session.
The two-day Punjab assembly session that began Friday was cut short with the AAP government announcing it would move the Supreme Court against the governor for not approving the three Bills that were to be tabled in the House.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit termed the session illegal and withheld his approval of the revenue-related Bills.
Congress leader Bajwa Saturday said Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan abruptly called off the ongoing session and adjourned it sine die.
"The haste with which the session was adjourned proves that the session was illegal. Therefore, someone from the government must bear the onus of calling the house session in the first place," Bajwa said in a statement.
"Neither did the Aam Aadmi Party present any bill nor did it hold any brainstorming discussion on Punjab issues take place in the session. Hence, what was the point of holding this session?
"All the Punjab CM did was announce that they would move to the Supreme Court of India against the Governor of Punjab's letter in which he had termed the session illegal," Bajwa added.
The Qadian MLA said there has never been such a casual approach to summoning the House without a decision on the business to be transacted, he said.
"Sine die adjournment of the House cannot be a routine. It is an exception to be used only in unforeseeable circumstances and emergent situations. It is also used to avoid resummoning the House at short notice through the usual mode adopted after prorogation," said Bajwa.
The opposition leader said it takes around Rs 75 lakh to hold the Vidhan Sabha session for a day.
"It was Punjab's taxpayers' hard-earned money that the AAP government wasted recklessly yesterday. The AAP government must deposit this money in the exchequer from its party funds," he demanded.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
