Chidambaram takes dig at law minister over 'no proposal to scrap sedition law' reply in LS
New Delhi(PTI): Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday took a swipe at Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for stating that the home ministry has no proposal under consideration to scrap the sedition law, saying what he did not state was that it has proposals to book many innocent people under the the law.
Rijiju on Friday said in Lok Sabha that the Ministry of Home Affairs has no proposal under consideration to scrap Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) dealing with sedition.
Responding to a question by Assam MP Badruddin Ajmal on whether the Supreme Court has recently termed the sedition law as colonial and has made an observation that it is being misused, Rijiju said "No such observations have been found in any judgment or order delivered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India."
Reacting to Rijiju's written reply in Lok Sabha, Chidambaram tweeted, "The Minister of Law said that MHA has informed him that there is no proposal to repeal the sedition law (Section 124A). What he did not say was that MHA has proposals to book many innocent people under the sedition law!"
The law minister also said that there is no record of the Supreme Court making any observations on the sedition law, the Congress leader noted.
"What he (law minister) did not say was that he does not read newspapers reporting the proceedings of the SC," Chidambaram said in another tweet.
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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.
