K'taka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar says he will retire from politics if it is proved he took commission
Bengaluru, Aug 11: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said he would retire from politics if it is proved that he has taken commission (bribe).
Hitting out at former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and former minister R Ashoka for accusing him of collecting commission, he said he sought to know whether the two BJP leaders would resign if their allegations prove false.
"I will retire from politics today itself if I have taken commission from anyone. But will Bommai and Ashoka announce their political retirement if they (allegations) prove wrong?" Shivakumar said.
Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru development portfolio, said the investigation into the various works taken up by the BBMP will cover all aspects and not just one department.
ALSO READ: No commission allegation on Congress by contractors, says Priyank Kharge
Meanwhile, Bommai told PTI that the Congress government is indulging in severe corruption in the entire state, especially in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Metropolitan Bengaluru Municipal Corporation).
"The Contractors' Association has gone to the Governor and given a representation, they tweeted to Rahul Gandhi also and they have met us also. So we have taken up their cause," he said.
"There is deep, open corruption going on. No payments have been made to the contractors for the past three months. They are citing some inquiry as a reason (for stalling payments). Let them do the inquiry. We are not stopping them. Let them do an inquiry and hang the guilty but genuine people who have worked for the past six months, there is no payment happening," Bommai said.
According to him, he had released a payment of Rs 650 crore in April this year when he was chief minister.
Bommai said the property tax collected by the BBMP should be given to the contractors who completed works genuinely.
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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.
