AAP MP Bhagwant Mann claims senior BJP leader offered him money, cabinet berth to join party
Chandigarh(PTI): Punjab Aam Aadmi Party president Bhagwant Mann on Sunday claimed a senior BJP leader "offered him money" and a place in the Union Cabinet to join the saffron party ahead of the state assembly polls next year.
Addressing the media here, the Sangrur MP also claimed that the BJP was calling up AAP MLAs to woo them.
The two-time MP asserted that he could not be bought with money or anything else as he accused the BJP of doing "politics of manipulations".
There was no immediate reaction from the BJP on the allegations.
Without naming anyone, Mann claimed that the senior BJP leader contacted him four days ago and asked him, "Mann sahab, what would you take to join the BJP?"
He alleged that he was also asked "whether you need money".
The AAP leader further claimed he was told that if he joined the BJP, he would be made a Union cabinet minister with the portfolio of his choice.
Mann said that he was told that since he was a lone MP of the AAP, the anti-defection law cannot apply, he said. "I told him (BJP leader) that I am on a mission and not on commission," said Mann.
He said he told the BJP leader that there might be others "whom you could buy". Mann said he could not be bought with money or anything else.
When asked to name the BJP leader, he said he would disclose it when the time comes.
He asked the BJP to remove this misunderstanding that he could be bought. The AAP leader claimed the BJP has no base in Punjab.
He said that the BJP leaders were not being allowed to enter villages and cities for holding any meetings or rallies over farm laws that were repealed by the government last week.
Mann alleged that the BJP knew the politics of "horse trading".
"They did this in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and Meghalaya and now they think this can be done in Punjab too," he said.
He further said that they were trying to woo him with such offers as they knew no central agencies like Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax and CBI could find anything against him.
Replying to a question on Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu who joined a sit-in protest of Delhi guest teachers demanding regularisation of their jobs outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, Mann said the AAP, after coming to power in the national capital, raised the salary of guest teachers to Rs 36,000.
He said the guest teachers were getting Rs 6,000 during the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government.
The AAP leader said the Delhi Vidhan Sabha had even passed a bill to regularise their services in 2017 but the Delhi Lieutenant Governor allegedly rejected it.
He said the AAP is making promises to the people of Punjab as it enjoys full statehood and whatever decision is taken by the Vidhan Sabha is final.
Mann further said that not many of the protesters who were joined by Sidhu were teachers.
Replying to a question, he said that the Charanjit Singh Channi government should give an account of its promises made to the people before 2017.
Replying to a question on rival parties targeting Kejriwal's visits to Punjab, Mann said that there is no ban on the AAP national convener from coming here. Actually, the rival parties are scared of Kejriwal, he claimed.
To a question on the chief ministerial face, Mann said that the AAP would announce its CM face for the Punjab assembly polls before other political parties do.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
