12 MPs of Shiv Sena in touch with Eknath Shinde faction, ready to cross over: Union minister Danve
Jalna, Jul 11: Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Raosaheb Danve on Monday claimed 12 MPs of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena are in touch with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction and are ready to cross over.
Speaking to reporters here in Maharashtra, Danve also said Shiv Sena might support National Democratic Alliance (NDA's) Presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu given that she is tribal.
"12 MPs of Shiv Sena are ready to leave the party and are on the verge of joining the Eknath Shinde camp," the Jalna MP said.
The Shiv Sena has 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Danve also said the Shinde faction is the true Shiv Sena as he has the support of two-thirds of total (55) MLAs.
"I am confident that the Supreme Court and the Election Commission will rule in favour of the Shinde faction," he said when asked about which faction will be allotted the Shiv Sene'a bow and arrow poll symbol.
In a relief to Shiv Sena MLAs of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, the Supreme Court on Monday asked newly-elected Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar not to proceed with the plea seeking their disqualification which was sought by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's group on the ground of defying party whip during the trust vote and the election of the speaker.
Queried on whether MLAs and MPs of the Uddhav Thackeray camp will support Murmu in the Presidential election, Danve said he thinks so.
"If Uddhav Thackeray supports the NDA candidate, I will welcome such a decision. I feel Sena might support Murmu as she hails from a tribal community. A large number of Adivasis live in our country, and this is for the first time that a tribal will become the President of India," he added.
Earlier in the day, 13 Lok Sabha MPs of the Shiv Sena physically attended a key meeting held at Uddhav's private residence 'Matoshree' in Mumbai on the presidential elections and a majority of them suggested supporting Murmu.
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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.
