HDK says he will not entertain any rebellion' as JD(S) faces 'Bhavani challenge'
Bengaluru, Apr 1: Amid the family feud over Hassan Assembly seat in poll-bound Karnataka, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday said he will not entertain any 'rebellion.'
He also said the second list of candidates will be released on Monday including for the Hassan seat.
The Hassan seat has become a big headache for Janata Dal (Secular), which is witnessing a rebellion within the first family of the party.
The party which was among the first to release its list of candidates has not been able to finalise a name for Hassan constituency yet.
The reason being that the former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's daughter-in-law and H D Revanna's wife Bhavani Revanna is adamant about contesting the election from Hassan, which is a JD(S) stronghold.
It is now learnt that the Bhavani has warned that she would contest the election as an independent candidate if she is denied a ticket. Her two sons Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and MLC Suraj Revanna too have backed their mother.
"I will not entertain any rebellion. I have already said this several times that we will respond to the sentiments of the party workers. Even if there is pressure it will not work because the final decision will be left to the wishes of the workers," Kumaraswamy told reporters.
According to sources in the JD(S), Kumaraswamy is keen on fielding H S Prakash's son H P Swaroop.
H S Prakash was a four-time MLA from this constituency who lost the 2018 Assembly election to BJP's Preetham Gowda. Six months after losing the Assembly election, Prakash passed away.
The JD(S) second-in-command wanted to field Swaroop keeping in view the large support base and sympathy he enjoys among voters, the sources said.
They added that 89-year old Deve Gowda, who is not keeping well, called the leaders from Hassan to discuss the issue at his Bengaluru residence.
With the Hassan conundrum growing to enormous proportions, senior party leaders reached Bengaluru on Saturday to find a way out.
"Some of our leaders have arrived here with regard to Hassan constituency and they too made an appeal. The matter now is that Deve Gowda is not in good health and he is not able to discuss it," former JD(S) state president H K Kumaraswamy told reporters in Hassan.
He was confident the situation will change "because there is still a lot of time to file nominations."
"The decision has been left to the supremo' (Deve Gowda). An appropriate decision will be arrived at," Kumaraswamy said.
To a question whether the list that is likely to be released on Monday will have Bhavani Revanna's name, the six-time Sakaleshpur MLA said the matter is still at the discussion level.
"We had a discussion with H D Kumaraswamy. He is going to make an announcement in two days. It (announcement) can be delayed further. We cannot predict. The final decision will be taken by the 'supremo', Kumaraswamy and Revanna," H K Kumaraswamy said.
He also said there will be just one decision, which everyone should abide by.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
