After farmers, youngsters suffering due to govt's wrong decision: Rakesh Tikait on Agnipath row
Noida, Jun 16: The farmers of the country suffered for 13 months due to the "wrong policies" of the BJP-led Centre and now, youngsters are facing the results of a "wrong decision", farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said on Thursday, wading into the row over the "Agnipath" scheme for recruitment into the armed forces.
The national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and a prominent face of the 2020-21 farmers' stir in Delhi, took to social media to lodge his protest against the Centre's new step for contractual recruitment into the armed forces.
"The farmers of the country have suffered for 13 months due to the government's wrong policies and today, the youngsters of the country are facing the consequences of a wrong decision. The government should know that those getting into the armed forces are also sons of farmers. We will fight till our last breath for the youngsters of the country and our children," Tikait said in a tweet in Hindi.
He also shared a picture along with the tweet that claimed that a young man from Haryana's Rohtak, who was preparing for recruitment into the armed forces for four years, ended his life after the government announced the "Agnipath" scheme.
Tikait's remarks came on a day when violent protests erupted in several parts of north India, including Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, over the Centre's new announcement.
The Centre unveiled the Agnipath scheme on Tuesday for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis, in a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process.
Under the scheme, youngsters between the ages of 17 and a half and 21 years will be inducted into the three services. After the completion of the four-year tenure, the scheme provides for retaining 25 per cent of the recruits for regular service.
The recruits would also get a corpus fund upon being relieved from the service but would not be entitled to post-retirement benefits such as pension like regular soldiers.
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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.
