EC writes 'love letter' to Adityanath for 'insulting' Army: Congress on 'Modiji ki sena' row
New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday questioned the Election Commission's letting off of Yogi Adityanath with a light rap for his "Modiji ki sena" remark, saying that the Uttar Pradesh chief minister "insults" the Indian Army and the poll body writes a "love letter" to him.
The opposition party also came down hard on the EC communication to NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar, saying he criticised the party's proposed minimum income scheme NYAY and the poll body told him "don't do it in future".
"Has the MCC now become 'Modi Code of Conduct'. Adityanath insults the Indian Army -- EC writes a love letter to him," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.
"NITI Aayog vice chairman criticises the NYAY scheme -- EC says 'don't do it in future'," he said. Why is the EC shying away from showing the mirror of truth to those in power, Surjewala asked.
The EC was learnt to have let off Adityanath with a light rap for his "Modiji ki sena" remark, asking him to be more careful in the future.
Not satisfied with the remarks, the EC was learnt to have told him that be "more careful in his utterances in future", sources had said.
The EC Friday also expressed "displeasure" over the NITI Aayog vice chairman's remarks against the Congress' proposed minimum income scheme 'NYAY' and said the comments violated the model code of conduct.
In a communication sent to Kumar, the EC asked him to be cautious in future while making statements.
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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.
