31% of Rajya Sabha MPs have criminal cases: Report
New Delhi (PTI): About 31 per cent of sitting Rajya Sabha MPs have declared criminal cases against themselves while the average assets of the Upper House members are Rs 79.54 crore, according to a report released by ADR-National Election Watch .
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch have analyzed the criminal, financial and other background details of 226 out of 233 sitting MPs.
In the current Rajya Sabha, one seat is vacant. Two MPs have not been analysed as their affidavits were unavailable and four seats of Jammu and Kashmir are undefined, the report said.
Of the 226 sitting Rajya Sabha MPs, 197 (87 per cent) are crorepatis' and the average assets per Rajya Sabha MP are Rs 79.54 crore, the report said.
Of 226 Rajya Sabha members, 71 (31 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves and 37 (16 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases.
According to the report, two Rajya Sabha MPs have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section 302) and four MPs have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section 307).
Four Rajya Sabha MPs have declared cases related to crimes against women and out of these four MPs, one namely K C Venugopal (Congress) from Rajasthan has declared case related to rape (IPC Section 376), the report said.
According to the report, 20 (24 per cent) out of 85 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJP, 12 (39 per cent) out of 31 MPs from Congress, three (23 per cent) out of 13 from AITC, five (83 per cent) out of six from RJD, four (80 per cent) out of five from CPI(M), three (30 per cent) out of 10 from AAP, three (33 per cent) out of nine from YSRCP and two (50 per cent) out of four Rajya Sabha MPs from NCP have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
The report said nine (11 per cent) out of 85 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJP, eight (26 per cent) out of 31 MPs from Congress, one (8 per cent) out of 13 Rajya Sabha MPs from AITC, three (50 per cent) out of six MPs from RJD, two (40 per cent) out of five from CPI (M), one (10 per cent) out of 10 from AAP, three (33 per cent) out of nine from YSRCP and one (25 per cent) out of four Rajya Sabha MPs from NCP have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
Giving state-wise details, the report said that seven (23 per cent) out of 31 Rajya Sabha MPs from Uttar Pradesh, 12 (63 per cent) out of 19 MPs from Maharashtra, six (33 per cent) out of 18 from Tamil Nadu, three (19 per cent) out of 16 from West Bengal, six (67 per cent) out of nine from Kerala and 10 (63 per cent) out of 16 Rajya Sabha MPs from Bihar have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
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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.
