Former minister Baburao Chinchansur joins Congress two days after quitting BJP
Bengaluru, Mar 22: Two days after resigning from the Karnataka legislative council, BJP legislator Baburao Chinchansur on Wednesday joined the Congress.
Two weeks ago, another BJP legislator, Puttanna, too had resigned from the council and the party, and joined the Congress.
Chinchansur, who had played a key role in the defeat of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency in 2019, returned today to the Kharge-led Congress.
According to Congress state president D K Shivakumar, Chinchansur had expressed his desire to join the party on Ugadi, the new year day observed according to the Hindu calendar in Karnataka.
"Today, Baburao Chinchansur who comes from Mallikarjun Kharge's home district has joined the Congress reposing faith in Kharge's leadership. I welcome him to the party," Shivakumar said.
Chinchansur had been a Congress man till 2018 and served as a minister in the Siddaramaiah government from 2013 to 2016. After his defeat in the 2018 assembly election, he joined the BJP and played a key role in defeating Kharge at the hands of BJP candidate Umesh Jadhav.
Besides lauding the leadership of Kharge, Chinchansur also expressed his gratitude to Shivakumar. "For the favour he has done for me, I will remain indebted to him in my next seven births," Chinchansur said.
He also vowed that he would ensure that the Congress would win at least 20 to 25 seats in the Kalyana Karnataka region bordering Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the upcoming assembly elections.
"I will demonstrate the strength of Baburao Chinchansur to the people of Karnataka in 2023," the new entrant to the Congress said.
To a question regarding his differences with Kharge, Chinchansur said his fight with the Congress president was like the one between a father and a son, which has now been resolved.
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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.
