BJP has abandoned its responsibilities as opposition in Karnataka: Priyank Kharge
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday hit out at the BJP ahead of the Assembly session here, alleging that the party has abandoned its responsibilities as an opposition and was instead focusing only on trivial issues.
Speaking to reporters on the premises of Suvarana Vidhana Soudha here, Kharge took a dig at the BJP for remaining silent on matters that fall under the purview of the central government.
Responding to a question that the BJP was going to target the Congress government in the session, Kharge said, "Let them do it. They have abandoned their responsibilities as an opposition."
"The MSP (Minimum Support Price) for maize was supposed to be given by the Central government. They are not asking about that. Similary, the FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) for sugarcane is decided by the Centre," he said.
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Kharge further claimed that the Centre owed Karnataka significant dues, but instead the BJP was raising irrelevant issues.
"They owe the state government Rs 13,000 crore in Jal Jeevan Mission. They (BJP) are not going to talk about that. They owe the 15th finance commission allocation for MGNREGA which is yet to come. They are only going to talk about the watches worn by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Sivakumar. That is the intellectual capacity of the opposition in Karnataka," he said.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar reportedly wore similar Cartier watches when the former visited the latter's residence for breakfast on December 2 in Bengaluru, and the opposition BJP has been critical of the expensive watches and has raised questions about it.
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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.
