Situation not normal in Kashmir: D Raja
Hyderabad: Describing the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 by the NDA government as "unconstitutional and undemocratic," Communist Party of India general secretary D Raja said on Sunday the situation was not normal in Kashmir.
Raja was part of the 11-member delegation of opposition parties from Delhi which wanted to visit the Valley to take stock of the situation there after the revoking of the Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
However, the leaders were not allowed to leave the Srinagar airport by the administration on Saturday.
"This situation is not normal at all (in Kashmir). People should understand this. No telephone is working there. They (the government) say that landlines are working, but no, we tried. No internet is working, no telephone working," the CPI leader said at a party meeting on "Abrogation of Article 370 and Kashmir Situation" here.
"Schools and colleges are open but students are not going. Parents are not ready to send their children to schools. People are not able to go to hospital. There is Curfew in Kashmir. Why should it continue (if everything is normal)? he added.
Raja said the Narendra Modi-led government circumvented the Constitution and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir state into two Union Territories.
He said as per the Constitution, the State Assembly has to be consulted before the bifurcation of any state.
"What the Modi government has done is unconstitutional. Abrogation of Article 370 is unconstitutional. It is undemocratic. It is against the federal principles of Indian democracy," Raja charged.
The CPI leader said Kashmir became part of India after independence whereas the BJP and the RSS were claiming that the troubled region has been "integrated only after Modi became the PM."
According to him, Pakistani Muslims never accepted Indian Muslims and Kashmiri Muslims never thought of joining Pakistan as there were cultural differences between them.
He said Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah also did not agree that Kashmiri Muslims as "the Muslims of his thinking."
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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.
