Congress leader Salman Khurshid's house vandalized amidst controversy over his remarks on Hindutva
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Salman Khurshid’s house in Nainital was vandalized amidst a raging controversy over remarks about Hindutva groups in his latest book.
Khurshid has compared Hindutva with terrorist groups Boko Haram and ISIS in his book ‘Sunrise over Ayodhya’. In a chapter titled ‘The Saffron Sky’ in the newly launched book, Khurshid has written, “Sanatan Dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints were being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva, by all standards a political version similar to the jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years.”
Sharing photos and videos of the incident on Twitter and Facebook, Salman Khurshid wrote, “I hoped to open these doors to my friends who have left this calling card. Am I still wrong to say this cannot be Hinduism?”
Bhupinder Singh Dhoni, in charge of Bhowali police station in Nainital district said that the caretaker of Khurshid’s house in Ramgarh has filed a complaint. “According to the complaint, some people were protesting in front of Salman Khurshid’s house. One of them threw some inflammable material into the house due to which the wooden door caught fire. We are looking into the matter,” he said.
Congress national general secretary and former chief minister Harish Rawat on Friday said Khurshid should correct his statements and avoid making any such comparisons that strengthen venom spewing forces in the society. Rawat said, “This can be Salman Khurshid’s personal view but Congress and we all don’t agree with it.”
Reacting to the incident of vandalizing of Khurshid’s house, senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor took to his twitter and called the incident disgraceful.
“This is disgraceful. @salman7khurshid is a statesman who has done India proud in international forums &always articulated a moderate, centrist, inclusive vision of the country domestically. The mounting levels of intolerance in our politics should be denounced by those in power.” He wrote in his tweet.
This is disgraceful. @salman7khurshid is a statesman who has done India proud in international forums &always articulated a moderate, centrist, inclusive vision of the country domestically. The mounting levels of intolerance in our politics should be denounced by those in power. https://t.co/OQFBoN1Pgw
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 15, 2021
— Salman Khurshid (@salman7khurshid) November 15, 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.
