After Ram temple in Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura appear to be waking up: CM Adityanath
Lucknow, May 29: After the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the temple town of Kashi appears to be waking up, as are Mathura, Vrindavan, Vindhyavasini Dham and Naimish Dham, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday.
There has been no communal riot in the state, he told the BJP's one-day state executive meeting in Lucknow and mentioned recent festivals to say that for the first time in the state the namaz on the last Friday before Eid was not held on roads.
Adityanath referred to the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor, to say one lakh devotees visit Kashi every day and the place is proving the significance of its name in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision.
"Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti were held peacefully. This was the first time that the last Friday namaz before Eid was not held on the streets. For namaz there is a place of worship, the mosques where their religious programmes can be held," he said.
Mentioning the removal of loudspeakers from religious places, he said, "You must have seen how the unnecessary noise was got rid of."
At the first state executive meeting of the BJP after the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, he asked the party workers to start preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and move forward with the target of winning 75 out of the state's 80 seats.
In 2019, the BJP had won 62 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh while its ally Apna Dal(S) registered victory in two seats.
Referring to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor, he said, "After the beginning of the construction of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, the waking up ('angadai') of Kashi is before us."
"All pilgrimages centres like Mathura Vrindavan, Vindhyavasini Dham, Naimish Dham are once again waking up ('angdai li'). In this situation we all have to move forward once again," the chief minister said.
His remarks came amid legal proceedings over the temple-mosque disputes in Mathura and Varanasi, also known as Kashi.
At the meeting, Adityanath said, "We have to prepare the ground for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from now only. We should move ahead with the target of winning 75 seats."
"With people's help and by dint of our hard work during Covid, we got better results in the assembly polls. In the 2024 general elections, under the leadership of PM Modi, we have to march ahead with the target of winning 75 seats in Uttar Pradesh."
Congratulating Modi for completing eight years as prime minister, Adityanath said with the 2024 roadmap, the BJP will succeed in achieving its target.
Adityanath said the perception about the state changed after 2017 while asserting that Uttar Pradesh is leading the country in over four dozen schemes.
Earlier, addressing the meeting, BJP state chief Swatantra Dev Singh congratulated PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and senior party leaders and people of the state for the party's victory in the assembly polls.
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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.
