Budget session of Parliament from Jan 31 to April 8: Sources
New Delhi(PTI): The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on January 31 with the address of the president to both the Houses, and conclude on April 8, sources said on Friday citing recommendation of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
The Union Budget will be presented on February 1.
The Economic Survey is likely to be tabled on January 31 after the president's address, the sources said.
The first part of the session would conclude on February 11. After a month-long recess, the part two of the session would begin from March 14 and conclude on April 8, the sources said.
The recess allows department-related parliamentary committees to examine budgetary allocations made to their respective ministries.
During part one of the session, campaigning for phase one of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections would be in full swing for which votes will be cast on February 10.
When the two Houses meet after recess on March 14, the results of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur would be out.
The counting is on March 10 for all the five states.
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, it would be mandatory for MPs as well as those entering the Parliament complex to have a negative RT-PCR report and a fully vaccinated certificate, parliamentary sources said.
A decision on whether the two Houses should meet simultaneously or in separate shifts to ensure that not many people are present in the complex to ensure distancing norms is yet to be taken, the sources said.
The Monsoon session of 2020 was the first full session held under Covid protocol with the Rajya Sabha meeting in the first half of the day and the Lok Sabha during the second half. The same was followed for the first part of the Budget Session during 2021.
For the second part of Budget Session and Monsoon and winter sessions last year, the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha reverted to normal timings, but with members sitting in the chambers and galleries of respective Houses to ensure distancing.
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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.
