76 lawyers urge CJI to take cognisance of 'hate speeches' at events in Delhi, Haridwar
New Delhi(PTI): Seventy-six lawyers have written to Chief Justice N V Ramana, requesting him to take suo motu cognisance of hate speeches allegedly made at separate events organised in Delhi and Haridwar.
The letter alleged that the speeches delivered during the events were not mere hate speeches but amounted to an open call for murder of an entire community.
"The said speeches thus, pose a grave threat not just to the unity and integrity of our country but also endanger the lives of millions of Muslim citizens," the letter said.
"It is also pointed out that the recent speeches are a part of a series of similar speeches that we have come across in the past... Thus, urgent judicial intervention is required to prevent such events that seem to have become the order of the day," it read.
The letter has been signed by senior advocates Salman Khurshid, Dushyant Dave, and Meenakshi Arora among others.
An FIR was lodged in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi and others in connection with alleged hate speeches delivered at a 'Dharma Sansad' to incite violence against the minorities.
The second event was organised by the Hindu Yuva Vahini in Delhi.
Tyagi, who changed his name from Waseem Rizvi after converting to Hinduism earlier this month, and other speakers at last week's event have been accused of making extremely provocative speeches, and some video clips of the same are doing the rounds on social media.
The FIR was registered under IPC section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), and the matter is under investigation, the police said.
The case was registered on the basis of a complaint by a resident of the Jwalapur area in Haridwar.
At the event, several speakers allegedly made inflammatory and provocative speeches calling for the killing of people from the minority communities and for taking up arms and shooting a former prime minister.
The 'Dharma Sansad' was allegedly organised by Yati Narasimhanand Giri of Juna Akhada who is already under police scanner for making hate speeches and inciting violence against the minorities in the past.
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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.
