'Give me 100 days': Former minister V Somanna asks BJP high command to appoint him state party chief
Bengaluru, June 23: Former Minister V Somanna who lost the Assembly election against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Varuna constituency, on Friday appealed to the party leadership to make him the state president of the BJP.
The BJP leader, who lost from both Varuna and Chamarajanagar constituencies, asked the top party brasses to give him at least 100 days.
Addressing reporters here, Somanna said he has faced many elections in his life and has been with the BJP for the past 15 years.
Stating that he took whatever task was given to him seriously, the former minister said for the past one-and-half months he has been jobless though he has always been a person who worked 24x7.
"Give me an opportunity. I have 45 years of political experience and I am the one who takes along everyone. Give me 100 days," Somanna said.
The BJP leader said he has told his superiors he will show how he can work towards building the organisation in those Assembly segments "where we lagged in the recent assembly election".
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"I will do the work if given an opportunity. If not, then I will leave it up to you and keep silent. I have taken this matter very seriously. Our leaders should take me into consideration," he appealed.
According to him, he has met everyone in this regard right from Home Minister Amit Shah, party national president J P Nadda, Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi and BJP national general secretary B L Santhosh.
"I have already met those whom I should have met, except for Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Somanna explained.
The former minister said his experience will be helpful in the upcoming municipal elections and some other local body elections besides the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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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.
