Bommai planned to join Congress in 2012, cannot lecture me on morality: Jagadish Shettar
Dharwad: Congress leader Jagadish Shettar has accused Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of considering joining the Congress party in 2012. Shettar made the allegations during a rally in Dharwad while campaigning for Vinay Kulkarni, the Congress candidate from Dharwad constituency.
Shettar, who was a BJP leader in 2012, claimed that Bommai had approached former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to launch a new party before considering joining the Congress. However, as the Congress denied him a ticket for the constituency of his choice, Bommai withdrew his decision to switch from BJP to Congress.
Shettar also criticized the BJP for referring to issues of dynastic politics, retirement age for politicians, and the character of candidates, while contradicting these values in their own party. He cited the example of the BJP giving a ticket to a candidate with 80 criminal cases against him in Gulbarga and selecting candidates aged over 70 years for the upcoming polls.
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Shettar further stated that Bommai has no right to lecture him on morality given his own history of considering joining the Congress party in the past.
The allegations made by Shettar come as campaigning for the upcoming Karnataka state elections intensifies. The BJP and Congress are both vying for a victory in the state, with the results set to have implications on national politics as well. It remains to be seen how these allegations will impact the ongoing election campaign.
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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.
