Congress must aim for 150 seats or else corrupt BJP will 'steal' next govt in K'taka: Rahul Gandhi
Bengaluru, Apr 16: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said there is a strong undercurrent in favour of Congress in poll-bound Karnataka but pressed on his leaders to ensure that the party wins at least 150 seats so that the next government is not "stolen" by a corrupt BJP.
He also reminded everyone that people in the party have a duty to defend the idea of India from the RSS and BJP amid hatred, violence and attacks on the country's institutions.
The Congress leader arrived in Karnataka on a two-day event to take part in a series of events in Kolar, Bengaluru and Bidar before flying back to Delhi.
"Most of us are aware of what the BJP is doing to the nation in terms of hatred and violence, the attack on institutions. These are the things that are visible to everybody," Gandhi said after inaugurating Indira Gandhi Bhavan.
Dwelling on his party's prospects in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly election, he said: "We are facing an election now in Karnataka and I am quite happy to see that there is a very strong undercurrent in favour of the Congress and I am confident that the party is going to win the election."
The Congress leader expressed happiness that there was "certain amount of unity" among party leaders in the state. "I am happy to see also that there is a certain amount of unity among all our leaders, unity of purpose and unity of action. I saw all the leaders of Karnataka during the Bharat Jodo Yatra," he added.
Winning elections in a close manner will not work in Karnataka, Gandhi said urging his leaders to win at least 150 seats of the total 224 in the Assembly.
"We have to win the election with 150 seats because the BJP is a corrupt organisation. The BJP has a huge amount of money that they have stolen from the people of Karnataka and they will attempt to steal the next government as well," he underlined.
The Congress leader said he was confident that if Congress campaigned in a united manner and stood together, then the party will win the election hands down.
"The essence of our country, the nature of our country is being attacked and it is our duty as Congress people, as people who have helped build the modern idea of India, as the institution, the organisation that has helped build the modern idea of India to defend it from RSS and the BJP."
Lashing out at the Basavaraj Bommai-led dispensation, the former Congress president said everybody knew the state government in Karnataka is one of the most corrupt in the country.
"The tag '40 per cent Sarkar' has stuck. Everybody understands that the BJP in Karnataka is a symbol of corruption," Gandhi said pointing out that the people of Karnataka are keen to teach a lesson to the '40 per cent Sarkar'.
Stating that the BJP government has "gone beyond being corrupt", Gandhi underscored that no matter what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said or did, it was very clear to the people of Karnataka that the BJP wasted its time.
"They have stolen five years of theirs because this government did not belong to them. This was a non-BJP government that was elected and this was a government that has been stolen," the Congress leader said.
Congress has made corruption as a poll plank alleging that the ministers demand 40 per cent commission on public works from contractors.
Appealing to the Congress workers to work hard in this election, he said a message should be conveyed that the party is coming to power with a serious purpose to deliver things to the people of Karnataka.
In the outgoing 224-member Assembly, the BJP currently has 119 seats, followed by the Congress with 75 and the JD (S) with 28 seats. Two seats are vacant.
While polling for the Assembly election will take place on May 10, the results would be declared on May 13.
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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.
