PM Modi to pay his seventh visit to poll-bound Karnataka this year on Saturday
Bengaluru, Mar 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a visit to poll-bound Karnataka on March 25 -- his seventh this year -- during which he will take part in various events including a Metro ride, and address a mega public meeting organised by the BJP.
Assembly polls are due by May, and the schedule is likely to be announced by the Election Commission in the coming days.
During the visit, the Prime Minister will participate in programmes organised in Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru, and Davangere districts.
According to an official release, the Prime Minister on his arrival here in the morning on that day, will travel to Chikkaballapura by helicopter to inaugurate Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research there.
He will then fly back to Bengaluru in the afternoon to inaugurate the Whitefield Metro Line and will ride in the Metro.
Modi will then proceed to Davangere to address a public meeting, and after that will proceed to Shivamogga to emplane for Delhi from Shivamogga Airport.
Though details about the public meeting have not been shared in the official release, it is said to be a mega rally of the ruling BJP as part of its poll preparations in Karnataka.
Karnataka BJP and its leaders including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai have said that Modi will attend a mega rally in the district headquarters town of Davangere on March 25, to mark the culmination of the 8,000-km long 'Vijay Sankalpa Yatre'.
The 20 day state-wide tour, which began from four different parts of the state, in specially designed vehicles or 'Rathas', was kickstarted on March 1 by BJP national President J P Nadda at Male Mahadeshwara Hills in Chamarajanagar district. Several senior BJP leaders, Chief Ministers of other BJP-governed states, and Union Ministers have taken part in the programme.
This is said to be the first party meeting, which the Prime Minister will be attending, since the poll preparations began in Karnataka.
According to party functionaries, the event is aimed at energising the BJP cadres in the run-up to Assembly polls.
BJP, which aims to come back to power in the state with an absolute majority this time, has set a target of winning at least 150 of the total 224 seats in 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.
