Before 2014, corruption was viewed an essential part of govt: PM Modi
Shimla(PTI): Corruption was viewed as an essential part of government before 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday and asserted that India saw a sea change in the last eight years due to the BJP-led dispensation's zero-tolerance towards graft.
At the rally in Shimla's Ridge Maidan to mark the eighth anniversary of becoming prime minister, Modi said, "Now our borders are more secure than they were before 2014."
He said that after coming to power, his government pruned nine crore fake names from the list of beneficiaries of various schemes.
"Be it Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana or scholarship or any other scheme, we have eradicated the scope of corruption through direct transfer of benefits.
"We have transferred over Rs 22 lakh crore to the bank accounts of beneficiaries of various schemes through direct benefit transfer," the prime minister said.
He claimed that poverty was on the decline in the country and even the international agencies were admitting it.
Modi said that before 2014, there was news about various scams but now his government's development schemes and zero-tolerance against corruption are discussed.
Before 2014, corruption was viewed as an essential part of government, he alleged.
About his government's measures to combat the Covid pandemic, the prime minister said nearly 200 crore vaccine doses have been administered in India so far.
India exported Covid vaccines to various countries and Himachal Pradesh's Baddi industrial unit played a vital role in manufacturing those jabs, he told the rally.
"Now India extends a hand of friendship not under compulsion but to help others as was done by providing Covid vaccines to several countries," the prime minister added.
Referring to the under-construction AIIMS in Bilaspur, he said, "We plan to build a medical college in every district of the country."
"I do not consider myself prime minister. Rather, I consider myself as 'pradhan sevak' and a member of the family of 130-crore Indians and my life is for them," Prime Minister Modi told the rally.
Before the rally, interacted virtually with beneficiaries of various Central schemes and released Rs 21,000 crore as the 11th instalment of the Kisan Samman Nidhi.
Following his arrival at the Mall Road in the Himachal Pradesh capital, Modi, accompanied by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, walked to the venue of the rally in Ridge Maidan around 11.30 pm.
There, the prime minister interacted with the beneficiaries of the Central schemes from across the country.
During one such interaction, Modi told Santoshi, a woman from Karnatka's Kalaburagi, that he was impressed by the way she expressed her views and had she been a BJP worker he would have asked her to contest polls.
An ex-serviceman from Ladakh told the prime minister that he has benefitted from the Jal Jeevan Mission and PM Aawas Yojana and faced no hiccup in availing the benefits of the scheme.
Lalita Devi from Bihar's Banka informed Modi that she has got a 'pucca' house and a toilet under the PM Awas Yojana Rural. Pankaj Sahani from Tripura said that he had got a ration card under the 'One Nation, One card' scheme.
Sama Devi from Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur told the prime minister that she got Rs 1 lakh for building a 'pucca' house under the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) and that she got Rs. 6,000 in three instalments in a year under the Kisan Samman Nidhi.
On this occasion, the prime minister also released Rs 21,000 crore to 80 crore farmers as the eleventh instalment of the Kisan Samman Nidhi.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur, Himachal Pradesh Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, state BJP chief and Shimla MP Suresh Kashyap were also present on the stage at the rally.
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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.
