UPA regime had sent Shah, cops to jail to topple my govt: Modi
Himmatnagar (Guj): Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said the then UPA government arrested BJP president Amit Shah and some police officers in Gujarat to topple the state government then headed by him.
Speaking at a poll rally, Modi also said this election will decide if nationalist forces will rule the country or those who want to help the "tukde tukde gang" by scrapping sedition law.
"From 2004 to 2014, there was a 'remote control government' and you know who was in control. In those 10 years, those sitting in Delhi tried to damage the interest of Gujarat and acted as if the state is not in India," Modi said.
"Our police officers, and even Amit Shah, were thrown behind bars. They (UPA) employed all means to break the Gujarat government," Modi said, alluding to the time when he was chief minister of the state.
"Now should we give them a chance to destroy Gujarat once again? They (Gandhi family) are more angry as they are out on bail. They are thinking that they were ruling this country for four generations and this Gujju, this chaiwala forced them to go to the court and seek bail," he said.
Modi said if voted to power again, he will ensure that they are behind bars.
"You gave me a chance in 2014. I brought them (Gandhis) to the doors (of jail) and if you will give me another five years, they will go inside, Modi said.
"But if they come to power again, their first target will be Gujarat, Modi said. Modi asked the crowd if people of Gujarat approve the language being used by Congress president Rahul Gandhi against him.
"The British used golis (bullets), while the Congress is using gaalis (abuse) against us," he said.
"Initially, they said anything about chaiwala, then they started saying things about chowkidar and now they are saying the entire community is chor, Modi said.
Addressing a poll rally in Maharashtra recently, Gandhi had said, "I have a question. Why all the thieves have Modi in their names whether be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi? We don't know how many more such Modis will come out."
Modi said he has come to Gujarat to ask voters to help BJP win all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the April 23 single- phase polling in the state.
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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.
