BJP MLA Jarkiholi rubbishes Cong claim about 'Operation Lotus' trying to bring down K'taka govt
Belagavi (PTI): BJP MLA and former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi rubbished the Congress's allegation that those who toppled the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in 2019 are active once again, offering bribes to the ruling party's MLAs to jump ship.
Jarkiholi, who was previously with the Congress and was seen as instrumental in the fall of the coalition government four years ago, said the BJP never talks about Operation Lotus'. Instead, it is the "drama company" of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar that is talking about it.
"It is the drama company of D K Shivakumar which is talking about Operation Lotus and Rs 50 crore bribe. We BJP people never talk of Operation Lotus' and will not do it," he said
'Operation Lotus', a term coined by the Congress, refers to an alleged BJP conspiracy to topple an elected government.
Admitting that there was a need to dethrone the H D Kumaraswamy-led JD(S) and Congress government earlier, Jarkiholi said, "There was a need in 2019, so we did it. That too was not done by the BJP but by Jarkiholi and company. Neither the BJP gave us money nor did it lure us."
"We rebelled because of D K Shivakumar's dictatorial tendencies and so we brought down the government. We were never against Siddaramaiah or Mallikarjun Kharge. We opposed D K Shivakumar. Today D K Shivakumar's supporters say something but they have no basis in their claims," he added.
The BJP leader said the Congress has failed on all fronts through their falsehood and false guarantee schemes. Only to divert public attention, the Congress is spreading lies, he claimed.
Regarding his recent meeting with former chief minister and JD(S) second-in-command Kumaraswamy, he said he met him only after the BJP formed an alliance with the JD(S) last month and not before that.
"We sat together to decide seat sharing," Jarkiholi clarified.
When he was told that the Congress leaders have said they would expose the BJP conspiracy to topple the government during the assembly session, he said he would welcome it.
"Let them take action against the guilty and we will also support it," Jarkiholi said.
Reacting to Jarkiholi's statement, Shivakumar said in Bengaluru: "People have already given their verdict. We have work to do; we are on it."
Mandya MLA and Shivakumar loyalist Ravi Gowda (Ganiga) claimed last week that those who tried to destabilise the government in the past are once again active in trying to bring down the present dispensation.
"Just as the coalition government was removed, a similar attempt is being made now. The team is searching for people and reaching home with allurements. We have information and videos. We have evidence to prove which MLA was contacted and how many crores of rupees was offered. We will make it public," he claimed.
"The team had even asked us to meet in Delhi. They are even ready to arrange special flights for it and make them meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah. They have even said that they have these many MLAs with them. They will call the MLA and put them on the speaker. They have already met four of our MLAs and discussed with them," Gowda claimed.
According to the Congress MLA, a former chief minister's personal assistant is also involved in the conspiracy and is actively taking part in the horse trading.
Claiming that he has the videos of the noble men' involved in horse trading, Gowda said he has brought this development to the notice of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
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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.
