Show me one party that has not associated with BJP: Deve Gowda on forging oppn alliance
Bengaluru(PTI): JDS Supremo H D Deve Gowda on Tuesday said he could not tell which party was communal and which was not, as he did not sound very optimistic about the ongoing efforts to forge an anti-BJP front nationally, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The former PM sought to know if there was a single party in the country that has had no association with the BJP, either directly or indirectly.
"I can analyse in detail about this country's politics, what is the use? Show me one party which has not associated with the BJP, either directly or indirectly. Show me one party in the whole country, then I will answer," Gowda said in response to a question about Bihar CM Nitish Kumar trying to forge an anti BJP front at the national level.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Some Congress leaders may say -- but, had they not gone to Karunanidhi (of DMK), who supported BJP for six years, whether directly or indirectly.... that's why I don't want to discuss the political atmosphere prevailing in this country, there is no need, I have seen it as PM, CM, as MP...what happened in Maharashtra? I can quote several incidents."
Declining to comment on a query about leading or joining a front against BJP on the request of like minded parties, Gowda said, "who is communal, who is not communal, I don't know. First of all, the definition of communal and non communal -- it can be enlarged, then the scope is much..."
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had called a meeting of opposition parties in Patna on June 12. The event has now been postponed.
Amid reports in a section of media that JD(S) would enter into an alliance with the BJP to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party veteran said he and his party would not pay attention to such things.
"Regarding the Parliament election, there are a variety of things, we are not going to pay attention to it. Our party, our strength -- our karyakartas are our strength -- by unifying and encouraging them, we will have to work towards strengthening the regional party, save it and move ahead."
Pointing to the presence of strong regional parties in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he said, "In that direction we will have to strive towards strengthening and nurturing the JD(S) by giving more strength to youth."
He also said that he had advised the constitution of a "high level" committee with representation from all communities for strengthening the party.
Asked if he would once again contest Lok Sabha polls, Gowda said, he is 91-year-old now and that question does not arise.
"How many candidates will be fielded for MP elections and from where, all those things will be decided later. The priority is to identify our strengths in zilla, taluk and corporation polls. After that we will look at Parliament polls, we will contest wherever we can based on our strength. We had a tie up with RSP and communist party, our leaders will decide in this regard," he added
Gowda said he has called a meeting of party leaders to discuss the party's performance in the recently held Assembly polls, organising, strengthening the party and restructuring of taluk and district units wherever necessary ahead of the upcoming zilla, taluk and corporation polls; and preparation for 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"I don't want to speak about Congress or BJP or the promises they made and about their implementation. What is before us is the upcoming elections....we will not sit quietly, I'm 91 and I'm also ready to work with you. I call on all party leaders, especially youths, to work towards building the party and prepare for the polls," he said.
JD(S) has to start preparing for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls, and the party has to identify candidates in the places where we were not fielding, he said, "I'm ready to travel wherever the party asks me to go for organizing and building the party , there is no question of me sitting idle."
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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.
