Arrest of Kejriwal to divert attention from electoral bonds scam: Kerala CM Vijayan
Kannur (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the electoral bonds scam is the biggest corruption ever witnessed in India and added the BJP government at the Centre arrested his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal to divert attention from the same.
Addressing the third consecutive rally organised here by the CPI(M) against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on Sunday, Vijayan alleged the BJP-led Central government and the Sangh Parivar give scant regard to the rule of the law in the country.
He alleged that the Sangh Parivar was trying to take control of the Constitutional institutions and even threatening the country's judiciary.
"The Union government, BJP, Sangh Parivar, they all very well know that the Supreme Court order on the electoral bond scam was harmful to them. They wanted to divert the attention from this topic and for that they have arrested Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal," Vijayan said.
The chief minister said when the idea of electoral bonds was floated, the CPI(M) had opposed it as it was a tool for corruption and moved the Supreme Court against it.
"The electoral bonds scam is the biggest corruption ever witnessed in India. How did they get the courage to engage in such blatant corruption? They (BJP) thought they would never be questioned," he added.
With the arrest of Kejriwal, Vijayan said the Sangh Parivar was trying to send a message that they are above the law of the land and will do anything to implement their agenda.
Talking about the anti-CAA protests of 2019 and the subsequent violence and riot in Delhi, the chief minister referred to the inflammatory slogans of Union Minister Anurag Thakur and said it was the CPI(M) which went on to file a case against him.
Vijayan also attacked the Congress over its stand on the CAA.
He alleged that at a time when the whole country was protesting against the contentious Act, the Congress MPs were participating in a feast organised by the party president.
"During the protests, none of the Congress leaders were present. Rahul Gandhi was abroad. It was the Left leaders who were arrested by the Delhi Police. At that time we had only one MP, A M Arif from Alappuzha who spoke against the CAA. Now, the Congress leaders are saying that they had opposed the Act technically," Vijayan said.
The chief minister alleged that the Sangh Parivar unleashed violence upon the ant-CAA protesters in Delhi and the BJP government at the Centre gave silent permission to the rioters.
"Around 53 people were killed, many went missing, over hundreds were injured in the riots. The houses, shops, establishments of numerous Muslims were attacked in the violence orchestrated by the Sangh Parivar," he said.
Vijayan said the CAA was an RSS agenda being implemented by the BJP government.
The Left party is organising massive anti-CAA rallies at five places in the state. The first rally was held in Kozhikode on March 22. A rally was held in Kasaragod district on Saturday. Two more rallies will be held in the coming days in Malappuram and Kollam.
The CAA was passed in December 2019 and it subsequently got the President's assent, but there were protests in several parts of the country against it, with many opposition parties speaking out against
the law, calling it "discriminatory".
The CAA aims to expedite citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
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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.
