Agnipath protests in Bihar; Army aspirants voice concern about job security, pensions
Patna, June 15: Army aspirants disrupted rail and road traffic in several parts of Bihar on Wednesday in protest against the Agnipath scheme which proposes recruitment of jawans on a contractual basis for a four-year-period followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits.
In Buxar district, more than 100 young men stormed the railway station and squatted on the tracks, blocking the onward journey of Patna-bound Janshatabdi Express for nearly 30 minutes.
They raised slogans against the scheme, unveiled the previous day by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, until security personnel led by RPF inspector Deepak Kumar and GRP SHO Ramashish Prasad, arrived at the spot and warned them against disruption of rail traffic.
There were reports in a section of the regional media that the protesters had hurled stones at Pataliputra Express, which passed through the station, though both Kumar and Prasad denied such an occurrence.
In Muzaffarpur town, a large number of Army aspirants vented their ire by placing burning tyres on the roads around the sprawling Chakkar Maidan where they turn up in large numbers for physical tests which are mandatory for recruitment of jawans.
They said they were exasperated to learn about the new job rules which has come after two years of no recruitment by the armed forces despite their having passed the requisite physical tests.
Many Army aspirants also marched towards the Collectorate where they submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate.
In Begusarai, Army aspirants, many of them NCC cadets, staged a demonstration at Mahadev Chowk where they carried a huge poster inscribed with the demand rollback of the Agnipath scheme.
Meanwhile, leader of the opposition in the state, Tejashwi Yadav, came out with a flurry of tweets sharing his misgivings about the much touted move by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
The RJD leader expressed apprehensions that like contractual hiring in Railways and lateral entry in other government departments, Agnipath will be used to do away with the constitutionally sanctioned reservation benefits .
The former Bihar Deputy CM also alleged BJP and Sangh Parivar may use the scheme for providing arms training, at government expense, to its hate-filled supporters and fringe elements .
As a result of the Agnipath scheme, many young men with military training will be rendered jobless at a tender age of 22. Will it not result in a major law and order problem in the country? , he asked.
He also asked, with rhetorical flourish, whether the government expected youngsters recruited under the Agnipath scheme to spend rest of their lives working as security guards of big capitalists friendly to the BJP .
He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of 10 lakh government jobs till the end of next year and asked if the number takes into account the 19 lakh jobs promised in Bihar ahead of the 2020 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.
