Congress sets target to win 20 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka in 2024
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday convened a meeting with the ministers to discuss the Parliamentary elections to be held next year and has set a target of winning at least 20 out of 28 LS seats.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said in the meeting attended by 19 ministers, the CM and his deputy D K Shivakumar discussed the severe drought situation in the state and no aid coming from the Centre.
There were no discussions on the issue of Chief Ministerial post in the state, he said and pointed out that the Congress high command has instructed not to speak on the issue.
It was said to be a breakfast meeting, party sources said.
"Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had convened a meeting where 19 ministers were present. The objective was to discuss the parliamentary elections next year. All the discussions have taken place. Our target is winning 20 seats," he said.
Replying to a question on the confusion created due to ministers discussing in public forum the possible change of guard, he said, "There is no confusion about the CM and the Deputy CM. The high command has said that barring development work nothing should be talked."
"Since AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala directed us a few days back not to speak about it, there is no question of giving public statements. So, you (media) too should not ask such questions. You have to ask me only about development," he said.
Drought situation in the state also came up in the meeting, Reddy said adding that the ministers were told to work to face it.
In this context, he accused the Centre of doing nothing.
"Despite drought the Centre is not paying heed. It did not release even a paisa. During (assembly) election they (central ministers) were coming in hordes to seek votes, but now no one is coming though we are in severe crisis," he added.
Regarding the Congress direction to the ministers to submit ground reports about the possible candidates for the Lok Sabha election next year, Reddy said it was also discussed.
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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.
