Govt will not remove temples built on Waqf properties, CM Siddaramaiah tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 18: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday assured the Karnataka Assembly that the government will not remove those temples which are built on Waqf properties.
In case notices have been served to them, then they will be withdrawn, he said.
During a discussion on the issue of the Waqf Board issuing eviction notices to farmers, temples and many other individuals, the Chief Minister said, "If temples have been built on Waqf properties then we will not remove them. I am making it very clear. In case any notice has been issued, they (notices) will be withdrawn."
As the raging Waqf issue echoed in the Assembly with the BJP raising it, the Waqf and Minority Affairs Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan clarified that if notices were given to farmers and temples then they will be withdrawn.
The Chief Minister too reiterated Khan's statement and said no farmer will be evicted from the land they have been tilling.
The BJP legislator Araga Jnanendra demanded that properties mentioned in government records as Waqf should also be removed as the mere withdrawal of notices will not serve the purpose.
The Leader of the Opposition BJP, R. Ashoka, justified the demand by saying that there were 110 Kuruba families in the Krishna Raja constituency, in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's home district of Mysuru, who have been running from pillar to post to get the notices removed. They have submitted several memoranda to Siddaramaiah, but to no avail.
He said there are hundreds of such instances where people face hardship by such notices.
Minister Khan reminded the BJP that it was in its manifesto in 2014 there was a promise to remove encroachment on Waqf properties.
The Chief Minister underlined the need to save the Waqf properties saying that there were 1.10 lakh acres of Waqf properties in the state which now reduced to just 20,000 acres due to various provisions of law such as the Inam Abolition Act as well as encroachment.
Jnanendra said, "We (BJP) too support saving the Waqf properties but our point is why notices were given now." Siddaramaiah said the situation was such that there was a need to save the properties and notices were given as there is a Central law for it.
The clarification was necessary now because a march was taken out from Bidar by the Vijayapura BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal from Bidar, he explained.
"There is a political split in the BJP but I won't discuss your internal matter," Siddaramaiah quipped.
He was referring to the differences between Yatnal and BJP state chief B Y Vijayendra. As a show of strength, Yatnal decided to take out a march from Bidar to Chamarajanagar with the support of 12 senior BJP leaders including MP and MLAs.
He accused the BJP of politicising the issue and reminded that despite the attempt to communalise the atmosphere in the state, the BJP lost the recent bypolls in all the three assembly segments, Channapatna, Sandur and Shiggaon.
Not satisfied by the explanation given by the Congress government, the BJP staged a walkout from the assembly.
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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.
