Congress calls UP chief minister 'Bulldozernath', says he crushed girls' dreams
Lucknow, Dec 26: The Congress on Sunday sought to dub Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath as "Bulldozernath" or the lord of bulldozers, allegedly out to trample the dreams of youths.
The Congress made the allegation a day after the Lucknow police denied the party to hold a five-km race in the city as part of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon poll campaign.
It accused the chief minister of crushing the dreams of the girls who wanted to run a marathon organised by the party in Lucknow.
"The destructive government of 'Bulldozernath' tramples upon the dreams of the youth repeatedly. Sometimes by question paper leaks, sometimes by not declaring recruitment and sometimes using force against them," the Congress said in a tweet.
"This time, the anti-women bulldozer of Yogi has run over the dreams of brave girls," the party added.
"But he does not know that the one whose time has come, no power on this earth can stop him. The slogan #LadkiHoonLadSaktiHoon is echoing in the state. The women power is ready to stake its claim to power," another party tweet said.
With the party having been denied permission to hold the race in Lucknow, the race was held in Jhansi on Sunday.
Spokesperson of UP Congress Vikas Srivastava told PTI that over 10,000 women took part in the five-km marathon held in Jhansi.
Congress General secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also slammed the UP government, saying girls won't tolerate it and will fight for their rights.
In a Hindi tweet, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Yogi Adityanath ji, you speak against the women by talking about controlling them. It is for this reason that you did not allow girls to participate in the marathon in Lucknow."
"The girls of Jhansi have sent a message that they will not tolerate it and fight for their rights," she added.
The UP government authorities have been using bulldozers to demolish the illegal property of criminals and gangsters and this is also often referred to by the BJP leaders in their speeches in the state.
The Congress further said those who took part in the marathon in Jhansi instilled fear in the CM.
Talking about the party's women marathon in Jhansi, Priyanka Gupta, a Congress leader and spokesperson, said every participant in the women's marathon drew inspiration from Rani Laxmibai, who hailed from Jhansi and fought against the British.
"They will not confine themselves to this marathon but will also sprint in the country's politics and change its course and direction," she asserted.
The UP Congress on this occasion also used a hashtag #ladki_se_darta_hai_Yogi (Yogi feels afraid of the girls).
On Saturday night, Congress workers had staged a protest outside the camp office of the Lucknow police chief over the denial of permission to hold the race.
The protesting Congress workers, including women, were forced into a police van and whisked away from their protest site outside the Lucknow police commissioner's office.
The five-km race was to begin at 8 am on Sunday, UP Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi had said.
"The BJP government is scared as women are siding with the Congress. They denied us permission due to their arrogance," Awasthi had said.
Police Commissioner D K Thakur had told PTI that the Congress had sought permission to organise the race but was denied permission due to the coronavirus pandemics.
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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.
