Bihar BJP chief fires fresh salvo at Nitish Kumar govt
Patna, Jun 23: In fresh trouble for the ruling NDA in Bihar, state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal has squarely blamed alliance partner JD(U) of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the less than satisfactory condition of higher education in the province.
Jaiswal also termed as "laughable" the contention of JD(U) that there should be a "punarvichaar" (rethink) on the Agnivpath scheme of recruitment in the armed forces which last week left the state in throes of violent protests.
The BJP leader made the remarks on Wednesday, a day before a video of the same went viral on social media, at the remote Raxaul town falling under his Pashchim Champaran Lok Sabha constituency.
Jaiswal was holding forth on the promised virtues of "Agnipath" which, he said, would equip youngsters with enough skills and qualifications by the time they were discharged after four years of service.
"I find it laughable when JD(U) leaders demand a rethink. They should do punarvichaar of the state of higher education in Bihar. The portfolio has been with them and students still have to contend with delayed academic sessions, spending more than three years to complete their graduation", said Jaiswal.
The JD(U), which was last week left fuming after Jaiswal alleged complicity of the administration in the attack on his house by a mob protesting against Agnipath, was predictably rankled by the latest barb hurled at the party.
Former minister and JD(U)'s chief spokesman Neeraj Kumar came out with an indignant statement enumerating steps taken for bringing the academic calendar back on track.
He did not mention Jaiswal by name but prefaced his rebuttal with the Hindi saying "kahin pe nigahen, kahin pe nishana (looking at one place, aiming at another)", in a clear signal that the JD(U) would not take kindly to any snide remarks by its ally, whatever may be the pretext.
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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.
