Stick to ideology, avoid party-switching like rats, Gadkari to politicos
Nagpur, Sep 1: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday told a gathering of politicians that one should stick to an ideology and avoid party-switching like rats jumping from a sinking ship.
Incidentally, the BJP is in the midst of an influx of opposition leaders in the run-up to the Maharashtra Assembly polls likely to be held in September-October.
Gadkari was addressing a gathering at the launch of 'Political Icons of Vidarbha', a coffee table book, organised by the Lokmat group.
"I feel people in politics should clearly understand the meaning of politics. Politics is not just power politics.
Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Veer Savarkar did not indulge in power politics," he said.
"Gandhi ji pursued samajkaran, rashtrakaran and vikaskaran (politics of society, country and development)," he said.
"Don't compromise on principles, and keep patience," he said.
He said he never thought of leaving his party even when faced with hardships, but the current situation was such that people were changing parties according to who is in power.
"People run after those who come to power. Today we are in power, they (party-hoppers) will come with us. Tomorrow if someone else attains power, they will run after them.
People just jump like rats from one side to another when a ship starts sinking," he said.
"But history will not be written by these people. It will be written by those who stuck to their ideologies despite facing hardships," the Union minister and Nagpur Lok Sabha MP asserted.
Speaking about Communist stalwart late AB Bardhan, who was Nagpur University Students Union president, Gadkari said, "I have a lot of respect for AB Bardhan though both of us followed different ideologies. He was such a dedicated leader.
His stature is unmatched when compared to any leader in Nagpur," he said.
Speaking of ideologies, Gadkari said the issue was not about differences in ideology, but about having no ideology at all.
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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.
