Several BJP, AAP leaders and BTP workers join Congress in presence of Mukul Wasnik in Gujarat
Ahmedabad, (PTI): Several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party and the ruling BJP in Gujarat joined the Congress on Thursday in the presence of the opposition party's general secretary in charge of the state Mukul Wasnik.
Some of the key leaders who joined the Congress at its 'Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan' headquarters here were Ishwar Patel, former MLA of Dharampur seat of Valsad, and Arif Ansari, who is former chairman of Gujarat AAP's minority cell.
Patel won from Dharampur seat in 2012 as a Congress MLA. He had joined BJP some time back.
Surat-based lawyer Ansari said he had resigned from AAP nearly four months back after he was removed from the minority cell and made chairman of sports cell.
Other leaders who joined Congress included former BJP president of Kodinar taluka Pravinsinh Zala, former BJP president of Santrampur town Sunil Bhoi, organisation secretary of BJP's state women wing Miraben Panchal and former AAP president of Narmada district Dharmendrasinh Gohil, said a Congress release.
Several Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) functionaries also joined the Congress during the day, it added.
On the occasion, Wasnik said the BJP's "anti-people" policies were hurting citizens of the country, resulting in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Welcoming the new entrants, Wasnik said the Congress under Rahul Gandhi was on a mission to unite the country, adding that all must come together to save the nation.
Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil said his party always believed in taking everyone along.
The entry of these leaders and workers will further strengthen the party in Gujarat, said the Congress release.
• ભારતીય જનતા પાર્ટી, આમ આદમી પાર્ટીના હોદ્દેદારો, કાર્યકરો અને આગેવાનો તિરંગો ખેસ ધારણ કરીને કોંગ્રેસ પક્ષમાં વિધીવત રીતે જોડાયા.
— Gujarat Congress (@INCGujarat) October 19, 2023
• ધરમપુર વિધાનસભાના પૂર્વ ધારાસભ્યશ્રી ઈશ્વરભાઈ ડી. પટેલ સહિત અનેક આગેવાનો કોંગ્રેસ પક્ષમાં જોડાયા.
• રાષ્ટ્રીય અને આંતરરાષ્ટ્રીય ખેલ સ્પર્ધામાં… pic.twitter.com/wO2zHu0djY
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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.
