Rahul no match for Narendra Modi, BJP will come back to power, says Yediyurappa
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is no match for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asserted that his party would come back to power with absolute majority.
The four-time Chief Minister also sought to reach out to Muslims saying the BJP government has not done "injustice" to the minority community.
He was referring to the recent decision of the state government to scrap four per cent reservation for Muslims under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and placing them under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) pool.
Yediyurappa said the Congress is "day-dreaming" of coming to power and claimed that the M Mallikarjuna Kharge-led party would not cross the 65-70 seats mark.
Elections to the 224-member Assembly would be held on May 10.
"BJP will come back to power with absolute majority under the dynamic leadership of Narendra Modiji", Yediyurappa said at a press conference at the state BJP office.
"I wish to ask Congress party leaders who their leader is," Yediyurappa said. "Can Rahul Gandhi be equal to Narendra Modi?" he asked.
He further said Modi commands respect at international level and this would benefit the BJP.
Yediyurappa dismissed some pre-poll surveys which predicted that Congress would wrest power from the BJP.
"I have been in politics for 50 years. I know the pulse of people very well. We have built the party from grassroots level", he said and added that BJP's own surveys gave his party 130 to 140 seats.
The Lingayat strongman also saw a BJP-wave in the state.
He said the turnout of people during PM Modi's engagements in Karnataka and the response during the 'Jana Sankalpa Yatre' give a clear indication that the party would come back to power.
Yediyurappa recalled that he had predicted before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections that the party would win 25 out 28 seats in Karnataka and it had come true, and expressed confidence of a repeat of such a good electoral performance in the coming Assembly elections.
"We have not done injustice to the Muslim community. Let there be no misunderstanding. Reservation cannot be given based on religion. We have brought them under the EWS category", he said.
Hailing Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for the government's recent decision on various reservations, he said, "For the first time in the history of Karnataka, or probably in India, our Chief Minister has done a great work on the reservation front and provided social security," Yediyurappa said.
The former CM noted that Lingayats now have seven per cent reservation and Vokkaligas six per cent, Scheduled Castes (left) six per cent, Scheduled Castes (right) 5.5 per cent, Bhovi, Banjara other communities 4.5 per cent and other SCs one per cent.
He also said that when he was the Chief Minister, he had formed Lambani Development Corporation and Thanda Development Corporation, and initiated steps to convert 'Thandas' into revenue villages.
Apart from this, he had also allotted land to the landless Lambanis.
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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.
