Don't repeat the mistake you made in 2018 polls: Piyush Goyal to people of K'taka
Bengaluru, Apr 7: Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday urged the people of Karnataka not to "repeat the mistake of 2018 polls", and to provide an absolute majority to the BJP in the May 10 Assembly elections.
During an Interaction with the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), he asked the people to elect a strong and single-party government, which would be committed to the welfare of the people of Karnataka and provide good governance.
The 2018 Assembly polls had thrown up a hung verdict, following which the Congress and JD(S) joined together to form a coalition government initially. However, the BJP later got MLAs from the rival parties to defect, and emerged as the single largest party.
"We (BJP) commit ourselves to providing a double-engine government in Karnataka, a government that will work hand-in-hand with the central government," Goyal said.
Addressing the gathering, he said, "We would like to see Karnataka get an absolute majority government of BJP. Don't make the mistake you made last time, don't leave us somewhere in between, so that others can cheat the mandate of the people of Karnataka.
"A good strong single-party government with an absolute majority, under the guidance and leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will transform Karnataka, reform the process, bring technology into governance and truly speed up the development of Karnataka as a trillion dollar economy," he added.
The Union Minister also spoke about making Karnataka "the engine of India's growth, so that India can become the engine of world's growth."
He also listed out various initiatives and programmes of the Modi-led government at the centre, which he claimed had put India on the global map in terms of economic growth, which was also inclusive.
The Modi government in the last nine years had created a strong macroeconomic fundamental foundation on which the country can grow for decades in the future, he claimed.
"Today we have amongst the lowest inflation in the world, our currency relative to most currencies strengthened. Most other currencies have depreciated far more steeply to the US dollar. We have had our fair share of depreciation, but still moderate...India which traditionally had double-digit inflation has seen the lowest inflation in nine years of the Modi government- between 4.5 to 5 per cent," he said.
Despite global crises such as the Russia-Ukraine war, India's inflation was still in the 6-6.5 per cent band, the Minister said, adding that the RBI Governor yesterday "complementing the collective efforts of the Government of India and regulators", has decided to maintain the policy rates and not increase them, while most other developed nations were increasing their interest rates.
"It is a big thumbs up for the Indian economy and a good signal for Indian industry," he said.
In a year in which global growth had been "very timid", India grew from USD 676 billion to USD 765 billion in terms of exports, Goyal said, adding that India's foreign exchange reserves were also robust.
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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.
