Will retire from politics if I have taken money for transfers: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he would retire from politics if it is proved that he has taken bribe for transfer of officials. He termed as 'figment of imagination' JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's allegation that transfer business' was going on in a big way under the Congress-led government in the state.
"I will retire from politics if anyone says that I took money for transfers. I object to the accusations made by Kumaraswamy and Bommai. I never transferred anyone in my department," he said during a discussion in the Assembly on Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's address to the joint session.
Siddaramaiah also said he has asked his cabinet colleagues to ensure that there was no corruption in their departments.
"The accusation of corruption in transfers is a figment of imagination because there is nothing else to speak against my government," the CM said.
He also said Kumaraswamy was levelling charges because the five poll guarantees namely Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyoti, Yuva Nidhi, Shakti and Anna Bhagya have created a sense of political insecurity for the JDS leader.
Siddaramaiah told the House that he has ordered a probe into the illegalities that took place during the BJP government.
However, former CM Basavaraj Bommai demanded investigation into the illegalities since 2013, he added.
"When we say that there was corruption in the previous government, their standard reply is wasn't there corruption in the Congress government?" Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah took a swipe at the BJP, which was in power for nearly four months from July 2019 to May 2023 but did not prove any corruption charges against the Congress government headed by him from 2013 to 2018.
"You could not prove that corruption took place during my previous term (as Chief Minister). This shows that no corruption had taken place in our previous government," he said.
During the discussion, the Chief Minister slammed the BJP-led Centre for not allowing the Food Corporation of India to sell rice to Karnataka to implement the 'Anna Bhagya' scheme.
Condemning the allegation, the BJP legislators raised slogans against the Congress and staged a walkout.
The motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the joint session was passed in the assembly.
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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.
