Defamation case: Rahul Gandhi appears in Surat court
Surat, Oct 29: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday appeared before a magistrate's court in Surat city of Gujarat to record his statement in connection with a criminal defamation case filed against him over his remark on the "Modi surname".
This was the third time the Congress MP appeared before the court in connection with the 2019 case.
The court had on October 26 directed Gandhi to appear before it between 3 pm and 6 pm on October 29 to record his statement.
The former Congress president landed at the Surat Airport in the afternoon and headed to the court, situated in the Athwalines area of the city.
Chief Judicial Magistrate A N Dave had earlier asked Gandhi to appear on October 29 to record his statement further, after the testimonies of two new witnesses were taken since the Congress leader last appeared before the court on June 24 this year.
Prior to it, the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala had appeared before the court in October 2019 and pleaded not guilty for his comment.
BJP legislator from Surat, Purnesh Modi, had filed a complaint against Gandhi in April 2019 under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 that deal with defamation.
In his complaint, the MLA had alleged that Gandhi, while addressing a poll rally in 2019, defamed the entire Modi community by purportedly saying "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" Purnesh Modi is now a minister in the Gujarat government led by new Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, holding the portfolios of road and building, transport, civil aviation, and tourism and pilgrimage development.
Since Gandhi's last appearance before the court, testimonies were taken of two more witnesses, the then electoral officer of Kolar in Karnataka, where the Congress leader made the controversial remark, and a videographer employed by the Election Commission to record his speech.
In his address at the rally in Kolar on April 13, 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi had allegedly asked, "Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi...how come they all have Modi as the common surname.
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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.
