Kumaraswamy a "political villain," more frustrated than BJP, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (PTI): Dubbing JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy a "political villain," Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday claimed that he was "more frustrated" than the BJP.
He hit out at the former Chief Minister for his recent attacks directed towards him and his government.
"If there is anyone who is a political villain, it is him, it is Mr Kumaraswamy. He has targeted me for watching a cricket match. But when his government (Congress-JD(S) coalition government) was about to collapse, he was sitting in America for a week. What should we call him?" Siddaramaiah said, in response to a question on Kumaraswamy allegedly comparing the Chief Minister to villains in the epic Mahabharata.
Speaking to reporters here, he claimed that, during his entire one year and two months as Chief Minister, Kumaraswamy spent time in a luxury hotel in Bengaluru.
To a question that Kumaraswamy has accused him of destabilising his government leading to its collapse in July, 2019, Siddaramaiah pointed out that earlier, the JD(S) leader had on record, in the Assembly, blamed the BJP for his government's collapse.
"He had made this statement accusing the BJP for his government's collapse, during the trust vote in the Assembly, but now he is saying different things and is blaming me, did he mislead the House then" he said, adding Kumaraswamy is "more frustrated" than the BJP and hence was making such statements.
In the May elections this year to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress bagged 135 seats, the BJP 66 and the JD(S) 19.
Last month, the JD (S) joined the BJP-led NDA; the two parties said they will have an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls next year.
Lashing out at Kumaraswamy for calling Siddaramaiah 'Mir Sadiq', Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar too, said the JD(S) leader had blamed the BJP for the collapse of his government and questioned as to how he has joined hands with the same party now.
Mir Sadiq, a minister during Tipu Sultan's rule, conspired with the British. His name is used when calling someone a traitor.
Pointing out as to how Siddaramaiah, the Congress party, its legislators and leadership stood by him during the then coalition government, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, accused Kumaraswamy of now "hugging" the same BJP which was responsible for its collapse and challenged him for a debate during the Assembly session in Belagavi and even for a media debate.
"...Who spoke what...let's bring things on record for future generations to know...earlier I had kept quiet abiding by a few (Vokkaliga) community leaders, but I have to speak now, as we too have self-esteem like you," he added.
Both Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar belong to the Vokkaliga community.
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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.
