Congress in Karnataka to stage protests against Centre for 'denying' rice to fulfil poll guarantee
Bengaluru, June 19: The Congress in Karnataka will stage demonstrations on Tuesday across all district headquarters against the BJP-led Central government for "denying" rice for the State's 'Anna Bhagya' scheme which offers 10 kg rice to each member of families living below the poverty line.
The Centre recently discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the central pool under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to state governments.
According to an order issued by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), "The sale of wheat and rice under the OMSS (domestic) for state governments is discontinued". However, the sale of rice under the OMSS will be continued for northeastern states, hilly states and states facing law and order situations, natural calamities at an existing rate of Rs 3,400 per quintal, it said.
The move comes amid the slow progress of the monsoon and rising prices of rice and wheat. Rice prices have increased by up to 10 per cent in the last one year at the mandi level and by 8 per cent in the last one month, as per official data.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, said on Monday the protest is against the Centre for "troubling the state government by denying rice".
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"The Centre has decided to trouble us so that we cannot give rice to the poor people. We are not asking them to give us rice free of cost. There has been a system from the beginning. If there was rice in the central warehouses, it was given to those demanding it," Shivakumar told reporters here.
"We will stage a demonstration across all the district headquarters in the state tomorrow. We have asked our leaders to participate. I will also participate in the agitation in Bengaluru," he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state needs 2.28 lakh metric tonnes of rice to fulfill its "guarantee" scheme of 10 kg rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme.
"Only Chhattisgarh has offered us 1.5 lakh metric tonnes. Nowhere else rice in such a huge quantity is available, including Punjab," Siddaramaiah told reporters.
He reiterated that on June 9 the state government had written to the Food Corporation of India about the state's requirement of rice.
On June 12, the FCI responded favourably saying it had adequate rice to meet Karnataka's demand.
However, two days later, the FCI turned down Karnataka's request, Siddaramaiah alleged.
"What should we call this? Isn't it politics? They are indulging in politics using rice meant for the poor. This is a big conspiracy by the Centre to deny rice to the poor because it will come in favour of Congress," he charged.
Five kilograms of (additional) rice to each member of the BPL families costs Rs 840 crore a month to the state government whereas annually it comes to Rs 10,092 crore, Siddaramaiah said.
"We are ready to bear the cost and give rice to the people. The Centre is not giving us rice despite having it," the Chief Minister said.
According to him, the state does not have adequate stock of ragi or maize to supply five kg of them to each member of BPL families.
He added that at most the state can supply only two kg of ragi and maize to the beneficiaries a month for six months only.
Karnataka has approached the National Consumer Cooperative Federation, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation, and Central Warehousing Corporation to procure rice, Siddaramaiah said.
The chief minister said the state government will implement the 'Anna Bhagya' scheme despite the "politics" played by the Centre.
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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.
