Congress alone can give stable govt, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Ballari (Karnataka), Dec 8: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said the Congress alone can give a stable government unlike the BJP, which, gave multiple chief ministers during its rule in the state.
He alleged that the BJP never came to power on its own and needed horse trading, spending crores of rupees to rule the state.
"The BJP never gave a stable government. From 2008 to 2013, there were three chief ministers. Again from 2019 to 2023, there were two chief ministers," Siddaramaiah said at the 'Jana Kalyana Samavesha' (public welfare meeting) at Sandur in Ballari district.
The public meeting was a thanksgiving event for the voters of Sandur for electing the Congress candidate Annapoorna Tukaram in the assembly bypoll recently.
The chief minister said, "When I became CM in 2013, we had 221 MLAs. Again in 2023, we won 136 seats. We will give a stable government."
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Siddaramaiah ruled for the full five-year term from 2013 to 2018.
He alleged that the BJP never came to power with the people’s blessings. It always ruled the state by doing 'Operation Lotus'. It spent crores of rupees to buy the MLAs.
'Operation Lotus' refers to the BJP's alleged attempt to topple the ruling government through horse-trading.
Siddaramaiah said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi says Na Khaunga, Na Khaane Doonga (Neither shall I indulge in corruption, nor allow others to do it). He should explain where the money came from to buy the MLAs."
He accused the BJP and the JD(S) of trying hard to bring down the Congress government in Karnataka.
The chief minister charged that the opposition BJP and JD(S) have been waiting to see his government’s fall.
According to him, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka and Union Minister and JD(S) second-in-command H D Kumaraswamy are competing with each other to become chief minister, "which would never happen."
The Congress will remain in power for five years as the opposition will not be able to shake them at all, he said.
Referring to the recent MUDA site allotment scam, in which he and his wife are accused, Siddaramaiah said, "It is not possible for you to stain my image. So long as I have the blessings of the people of Karnataka, I cannot be removed."
The chief minister advised the opposition to stop lying to people and making false corruption charges against him.
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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.
