Former PM Deve Gowda urges Modi to consider passing Women's Reservation Bill before 2024 LS polls
Bengaluru, Apr 15: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider passing the Women's Reservation Bill, before the 2024 general (Lok Sabha) elections.
Pointing out that the government led by Modi enjoys a majority in Parliament and may be successful in passing it, the JD(S) patriarch in his letter to the Prime Minister said, to accord one third reservation to women in legislative assemblies and parliament is an idea whose time has come.
"When the Election Commission announced polls in Karnataka recently, and released the number of eligible women voters in the State, it was not a surprise that they were nearly fifty per cent of the total electorate. The statistics are not different in other states of India. This made me revisit the idea of reservations for women in legislative assemblies and parliament," Gowda said.
In a letter dated April 10 which was released on Saturday, he highlighted that as Prime Minister he had brought the Women's Reservation Bill to Parliament in 1996, but was unsuccessful in seeing it through. The attempts that were made later in 2008 by the UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not reach a logical conclusion either.
Both times when an attempt was made to pass the Bill, governments did not have a majority and were dependent on their coalition partners, Gowda said. "In your (Modi) case, you are lucky to have a majority in parliament and may be successful in passing it," he said.
"Therefore, I urge you to consider passing the Women's Reservation Bill before the 2024 general elections. Suitable modifications can be made to the drafts of the Bill presented in 1996 and 2008. To adhere to the principles of social justice will be key to the success of this great move for gender justice," he said.
To accord one third reservation to women in legislative assemblies and parliament is an idea whose time has come, he further said adding that, "It will be a symbolic gesture to bring in this Bill, and pass it, as we transition into a new and very modern Parliament building. Our mothers and sisters deserve better from us."
The former Prime Minister also asserted that considering the Women's Reservation Bill when India holds the G20 leadership will send a positive signal to the world. "It will tell the world that we are serious about our democracy and wish to deepen it."
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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.
