Congress in soup over Chowdhary Lal Singh's participation in Bharat Jodo Yatra
Jammu: People are expressing shock and dissatisfaction over the news of former BJP MLA and Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party supremo Chowdhary Lal Singh joining the Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress in Jammu and Kashmir.
While the organizers of the Bharat Jodo Yatra have confirmed his participation in the rally and several other parties are expected to join the Congress rally, that Singh will share the dais with Rahul Gandhi has proven unacceptable to the citizens here. Many have opposed it on social media too.
Singh had shifted from the Congress to the BJP in 2014, but quit the BJP in 2019.
The former MLA had given rise to an uproar by supporting the accused in the rape and murder case of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in 2018. He had also allegedly prevented a hearing of the case by threatening the lawyers against representing the complainants.
Singh is accused of igniting hatred on the lines of communalism in Jammu in 2018. He had also spread communalism, using nationalism and Hindutva, while participating in the rally supporting the accused in the Kathua case.
Although, in 2014, he had been a minister in the BJP-PDP alliance government in the state, Singh resigned from the BJP in 2019, as he was refused ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. He then launched the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party.
In protest against Singh’s participation in the Yatra, Congress spokesperson from Jammu and Kashmir Deepika Pushkar Nath on Tuesday resigned from the party.
Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and vice-president of the National Conference, has advised the Congress against letting Singh participate in the rally.
“The Congress must not allow any leader to whitewash themselves using ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. The role of the leader in the Rasana (Kathua) rape case incident is known to everyone,” Abdullah said.
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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.
