''Still a democracy?'': Priyanka Gandhi hits out over party leaders'' detention
New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the government on Saturday, asking on what grounds her party's leaders were taken into custody in Jammu and Kashmir.
She asked whether it was a crime to speak to the media after the state unit of the Congress was prevented from addressing a press conference on Friday as police detained its chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma and place its Jammu and Kashmir president Ghulam Ahmed Mir under house arrest.
"On what grounds have Congress leaders in J&K been arrested? Is it a crime to speak to the media? It's now 15 days since ex CM's who respected and abided by the Constitution of India just like our leaders, have been under arrest (sic)," she said on Twitter.
"Even their families have not been allowed to communicate with them. Does the Modi-Shah Government believe India is still a democracy? (sic)," she said in the tweet with hashtag "StopIllegalArrestsInKashmir".
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram dubbed the detention of Mir as "outrageously illegal" and hoped that courts will take cognizance of the matter.
In a series of tweets, the former finance minister said Mir is under house arrest in Jammu since Friday.
"There was no written order of detention. Outrageously illegal ... I hope the courts will act and secure the liberty of citizens," he tweeted.
On Friday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had condemned the arrest of Mir and senior leader Ravinder Sharma in Jammu.
"I strongly condemn the arrest of our J&K PCC Chief, Shri Ghulam Ahmed Mir & spokesperson, Shri Ravinder Sharma in Jammu today. With this unprovoked action against a national political party, the Govt has delivered democracy another body blow. When will this madness end?" Gandhi wrote on Twitter.
Azad said while the state and the central government were asserting that the situation was normal in Jammu and people were celebrating the Centre's decision to abrogate the constitutional provisions that gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, opposition leaders were not even allowed to address press conferences.
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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.
