Will come back as Karnataka CM again, asserts Bommai
Bagalkote (K'taka) (PTI): Quoting Lingayat sect founder Basaveshwara and extolling his government's development agenda, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said he will return to power again after the assembly election, which is due by May.
Addressing a public gathering at Hungund in northern Karnataka's Bagalkote district here on Tuesday night, the Chief Minister said he has performed sincerely to offer social justice to every section of the society, which resulted in increase in the annual per capita income by Rs 1 lakh in the last four years.
"I will come back as chief minister again. God has given me an opportunity to serve Mother Karnataka. I have done sincere work," Bommai said during an election rally.
The Chief Minister said he is treading on the path of "work is worship" and social equality, as advocated by 12th Century social reformer and founder of Lingayat sect Basaveshwara.
"I tried to give social justice to every section of the society. People had asked for corporations of various communities for their overall development. We are treading on the path shown by Basaveshwara," Bommai said.
The Chief Minister, who belongs to the Lingayat community, invoked the name of Basaveshwara, whose followers form a large chunk in Karnataka, especially in the northern part of the state.
Bommai said the key parameter of growth in Karnataka was the per capita income in the state, which has grown substantially.
"Before our government came to power, the per capita income in Karnataka was Rs 2.42 lakh per annum, which has now increased to Rs 3.47 lakh, which is more than a lakh. This is despite the COVID situation. This shows we carried out development in the middle of COVID pandemic," the Chief Minister said.
He claimed that due to the initiatives of the state government in the last four years since the BJP came to power, Karnataka became the number one destination in investment and innovation.
According to Bommai, the state got an investment of Rs 12 lakh crore during the Global Investor's Meet, which was organised last year.
He appealed to the people to choose BJP if they wish to see the state marching on the development path.
The Chief Minister also hit out at Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah for "lying" to the people alleging that he reduced the quantity of rice given to the poor from 10 kilograms in 2012 when the BJP was in power to 5 kg.
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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.
