Congress lodges complaint with EC against PM Modi for invoking name of Hanuman in election rallies
Bengaluru, May 4: Congress on Thursday lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for invoking the name of Lord Hanuman in the election rallies in Karnataka.
Modi in his election rally since May 2 has been hitting out at the Congress for promising a ban on the right-wing outfit Bajrang Dal and equated the ban with "locking up" Bajrangbali, Lord Hanuman.
Modi also chanted Jai Bajrangbali' in all the three speeches in Karnataka on Wednesday.
The Congress asked the Election Commission to restrain Modi from taking up the names of Hindu Gods, according to the advisory.
It also wondered whether the ban on Sri Ram Sene some years ago by then BJP chief minister Late Manohar Parrikar amounted to an insult to Lord Rama or if the BJP's betrayal of Shiv Sena is considered an insult to Lord Shiva.
"The Prime Minister in his address at public rallies spoke critically of the Congress party and in the melee attempted to portray the Congress party as anti-Hindu by taking the name of Lord Hanuman ie 'Jai Bajrangbali' only with the intention of soliciting votes for the BJP and urging people to not vote for Congress," the party said in its complaint.
The Congress requested the Commission "to pass orders which the commission deems fit to direct the Hon'ble Prime Minister to refrain from using the names of Hindu Gods/Goddesses in election rally/speech only for the purpose of soliciting votes in the name of religion."
Meanwhile, Congress's chairman of the media and publicity department Pawan Khera hit out at the BJP for its hypocrisy and using the name of Hanuman only to garner votes.
Quoting the BJP-led Central government's reply in Parliament on the birthplace of Hanuman and Sita in a press conference, Khera said, "BJP says the birthplace of any lord is a matter of faith. If that is the case then why do they use them to garner votes? Why are they disregarding the existence of Gods and Goddesses? Do they need the Gods and Goddesses (only) during elections?"
Khera also wondered whether when the BJP banned Sri Ram Sene in Goa, it was an insult of Lord Ram and when the BJP betrayed the Shiv Sena, it was an insult of Lord Shiva or Shivaji. He called the logic ridiculous and desperate.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who shared excerpts of Khera's press conference, tweeted, "The Prime Minister's hypocrisy, especially when in despair and desperation, has no limits! On 20th August 2014, his BJP colleague and CM of Goa Manohar Parrikar banned the Sri Ram Sene in the entire state. In 2020, the BJP govt in Goa again banned Sri Ram Sene for 60 days. Did the Prime Minister consider this an insult to Lord Ram?"
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As announced, many Bajrang Dal activists recited te Hanuman Chalisa', a set of 40 couplets authored by 16th century saint poet Tulsidas in the Awadhi dialect of Hindi, in various temples of the state to protest the promise of banning the Bajrang Dal.
In Bengaluru, the main event took place at Rama Mandir at Malleswaram, Ramanjaneya Temple at Ragi Gudda and Gali Anjaneya Swami Temple on Mysuru Road.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shobha Karandlaje too attended the Hanuman Chalisa recital at Malleswaram. She later addressed the gathering.
Similar protests took place in Mangaluru, Belagavi, Mandya, Srirangapatna, Mysuru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Chitradurga, Bidar, Vijayapura, Koppal, Ballari, Tumakuru, Chamarajanagara, Davangere, Kolar, Gadag, Bagalkote, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts.
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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.
