Rahul Gandhi's two-day Karnataka visit to begin today
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will arrive in poll-bound Karnataka on a two-day visit to take part in a host of events, including party rally in Kolar on Sunday.
This is the maiden visit of Gandhi to the state after his disqualification from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case.
According to party sources, the former Congress president is expected to reach Bengaluru in the morning and then proceed to Kolar by a helicopter.
Gandhi will address a public meeting in Kolar as part of Congress' 'Jai Bharat' rally.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in Kolar, Rahul Gandhi had made the Modi surname remark, which led to his conviction by a Gujarat court and his subsequent disqualification from Parliament.
The Kolar event, which was earlier called 'Satyameva Jayate', was scheduled to take place on April 5, but was postponed twice. The even renamed as 'Jai Bharat' rally was rescheduled to April 16.
After his address in Kolar, the Congress leader will return to Bengaluru by helicopter in the afternoon.
Later, in the evening, Gandhi will interact with the 'Pourakarmika', the sanitation workers and street vendors in the state capital.
After the meeting, he will inaugurate the newly-built Indira Gandhi Bhawan, office and auditorium with a seating capacity of 750 people,in the city.
The leader will stay at a hotel in Bengaluru tonight. On Monday, he will take a special flight from the HAL airport to Bkhalki in Bidar district, where he will address a public meeting.
Congress working president Eshwar Khandre is contesting from Bhalki.
Rahul Gandhi will address another public meeting in Humnabad in the same district. The Congress has fielded Rajashekar Basavaraj Patil in this assembly segment.
In the afternoon, the Gandhi scion will travel to Hyderabad by a helicopter from where he will fly back to Delhi.
For the 224-seat assembly, the Congress has so far announced candidates for 209 seats, including 124 in the first list, 42 in the second list and 43 in the third.
The party is yet to announce seats of 15 more candidates.
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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.
