66 retired civil servants approach President to complain about EC’s biased functioning to help Modi
A group 66 former senior bureaucrats has written to President Ram Nath Kovind expressing their disgust over the questionable functioning of the Election Commission of India. The petitioners that included Former Delhi LG Najeeb Jung, Retired IPS officer Vappala Balachandran, former special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, former foreign secretary and national security adviser (NSA) Shivshankar Menon, former Planning Commission secretary N C Saxena and super cop Julio Ribeiro, have asked President Kovind to intervene to ensure free and fair elections.
The petition by former civil servants also highlighted instances of gross violations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and how the Election Commission chose to look the other way by not taking action against him.
The five-page letter highlighted several instances where violations by Modi and those favouring the BJP were ignored by the Election Commission. It said that the ECI had failed to stop the Modi biopic from being released even though this ‘represents a backdoor effort to garner free publicity’ for him and his party.The group of 66 bureaucrats also slammed the ECI for not stopping another web series made on Modi, which will be aired soon on Eros Now. It mocked the national poll body for its ticking the box exercise by simply ‘going through the motions of calling for detail.’
They also called out the EC’s ‘lethargy’ on the launch of the NaMo TV on 31 March despite not receiving any approval from the Information and Broadcasting ministry. They reminded the EC of Modi’s speech made in Wardha in Maharashtra, where he was seen provoking Hindus while seeking votes.
On 6 April, Modi had made a similar speech in Nanded, but the ECI merely sought a report from the Chief Electoral Officer. Modi’s latest speech seeking votes in the name of the Balakot air strikes and the Pulwama terror attack too violated the EC guidelines, but the national poll body once again ignored the violation.
Among other violations of Model Code of Conduct and the EC’s refusal to act against them were Yogi Adityanath’s Modi ji ki sena comments. The petition also questioned the EC’s recent decision to transfer three top police officers and the Chief Secretary in Andhra Pradesh and four top police officers in West Bengal, adding that why no such steps were taken in Tamil Nadu, where the Director General of Police (DGP) is reportedly under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Gutkha scam case.
courtesy: jantakareporter.com
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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.
