Will continue as chief minister for five years: CM Siddaramaiah
Hosapete (K'taka), Nov 2: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday asserted that he would hold the office for a full five years.
The clarification came in the wake of speculation within a section of the ruling Congress about a change in leadership after two-and-half years of this government's tenure.
"Who has made the confusing statement? If someone useless speaks, why do you give importance to it" Siddaramaiah told reporters here, when he was asked about repeated confusing statements from those within the party about CM change.
Asked to give clarity on whether he would head the government for a full five years, he said, "For five years our government will be there...I'm the chief minister, I will continue."
On the speculation about having three more deputy chief ministers, he said, "Who said? All this is decided by the high command.
Congress is not a regional party, it's a national party. Nothing can be decided without discussing with the high command. Neither me as the chief minister or MLAs can change the government. We have the high command; they will decide."
Ever since this government came to power, there have been claims and counter claims within the party about the chief minister being changed, saying Siddaramaiah may have to make way for Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar after two-and-half years of this dispensation.
Siddaramaiah was sworn in as chief minister on May 20 this year after the Congress posted a landslide victory ousting the BJP from power.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the assembly election results came out in May this year. The Congress party managed to convince the latter to accept the post of deputy chief minister.
There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached, according to which Shivakumar would become CM after two-and-half years, but this has not been officially confirmed by the party.
Claiming that BJP was attempting an 'Operation Kamala/Lotus' but won't be successful, Siddaramaiah said his party would run a stable government for a full five years.
"People of the state have given us victory by giving us 136 seats in the elections held in May. We will run a stable government for five years. BJP is in disillusionment. They can't stay without power. As they have been once successful with 'Operation Kamala', they are trying to do it once again, but they will not succeed," he said.
'Operation Kamala' (Operation Lotus), a term coined by opposition parties, refers to an alleged attempt of the BJP to engineer defection of opposition legislators to install its own government and to ensure its stability.
Responding to a question on BJP MLA and former Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi predicting the collapse of the Congress government in the state, Siddaramaiah said, "He doesn't have any other work. After losing, they (BJP) don't have any work, so they are speaking whatever they want."
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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.
