CM Pushkar Dhami is my younger brother: Uttarakhand minister Harak Rawat
Dehradun, Dec 26: Putting to rest speculation about his resignation, Uttarakhand Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat on Sunday said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is his younger brother who has always stood by him through thick and thin.
In a video message, Rawat also said he prays that the BJP will return to power in the state with full majority after next year's assembly elections under Dhami's leadership.
The video came after Rawat held a six-hour meeting with Dhami at the latter's residence on Saturday night. The two had dinner together.
Speculation about Rawat's resignation began doing rounds on Friday after he walked out of a cabinet meeting in a huff.
Sources said Rawat left the meeting as he was angry that a proposal for a medical college in Kotdwar, his constituency, was not being cleared by the cabinet.
On Saturday, BJP MLA Umesh Sharma Kau, who had been tasked with dissuading Rawat, said the minister's grievance had been addressed and no one was going anywhere.
In the video, Rawat said, "Pushkar bhai is my younger brother who has always stood by me through thick and thin. I give him my blessings as an elder brother. I pray that under his leadership, the BJP comes to power again in the state with full majority."
Dhami is working honestly for the people and the remote hilly areas of the state in a non-partisan manner, he said.
"In him, the state has for the first time got a chief minister whose heart is full of sympathy for the poor, the youth and women," the minister added.
Before meeting Rawat on Saturday, Dhami had said the minister's grievance was a "family matter" and it would be resolved by sitting together.
Dhami has accepted Rawat's proposal for a medical college in Kotdwar and agreed to release the first instalment of Rs 20 crore for the project on Monday.
मंत्रिमंडल में मेरे साथी श्री हरक सिंह रावत जी ने रात्रिभोज पर मुलाक़ात कर राज्य के समसामयिक विषयों पर चर्चा की।@drhsrawatuk pic.twitter.com/45ggE9ekXY
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) December 25, 2021
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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.
