Former K'taka CM Kumaraswamy calls Congress 'hypocrite' for boycotting opening of new Parliament
Bengaluru (PTI): JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday slammed the "hypocrite Congress" for boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building.
The Congress and some other political parties have decided to shun the inauguration of the building on May 28 saying that it should have been done by President Droupadi Murmu and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A day after former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda announced his decision to attend the inauguration, his son and the JD(S) second-in-command Kumaraswamy said the call given by Congress showed its double standard to advance its "trivial politics" to turn votes in its favour by "pleasing certain communities".
The JD(S) leader, however, clarified that the stand taken should not be perceived as his party's soft corner for the BJP.
Addressing reporters here, Kumaraswamy said the JD(S) had a detailed discussion on the topic and finally it was agreed upon that it will attend the inauguration on May 28.
The former chief minister said the Parliament building has not been built by a party but rather using the taxpayers money. However, Congress and a few other parties have decided to boycott the inauguration saying that it should be unveiled by the President, who belongs to the tribal community, he added.
Kumaraswamy reminded the Congress that the foundation stone of the Chhattisgarh Assembly building was laid by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and not the Governor.
"In Karnataka too, the foundation of the Vikasa Soudha was inaugurated by the then Congress Chief Minister (Dharam Singh) in 2005 and not the Governor (at the time). This is the doublespeak of Congress, which seeks to turn votes in its favour by raising trivial political issues to appease certain communities," Kumaraswamy said.
He also sought to know why the Congress had fielded former Union minister Yashwant Sinha against Murmu during the presidential election if it had so much respect for a tribal woman.
"If you truly had respect for a tribal woman, you should have elected her unopposed since it's a presidential election. Why did you field Yashwant Sinha? Now, you have developed respect for her! We can see through your hypocrisy behind the respect for President Murmu," Kumaraswamy said.
He also advised the Congress not to spoil its respectful position by indulging in petty politics.
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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.
