Even after leaving Congress, never gave up ideologies of Gandhi, Nehru, Chavan, says Sharad Pawar
Pune (PTI): NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said he never gave up the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Yashwantrao Chavan even after parting ways with the Congress to form his own party.
Speaking at an event in Pune, he said he does not repent that he waited till 1999 to form the Nationalist Congress Party.
"My family followed some different ideology, it was more of Leftist ideology. I came to Pune in 1958 and the youth like me were driven by the ideologies of Gandhi, Nehru, and Chavan. We went to the bottom of that thought and adopted it and worked further," he said.
"The Congress was the mainstay of that ideology and that is why never thought of going away from it. Never thought of doing something different. I had to take this decision (of forming NCP ) because the Congress had removed me from the party for six years," he said.
He said he paid the price for putting forth some opinions in the Congress executive meet that did not get "digested".
"Even if we left the Congress and formed NCP, we never gave up the thoughts of Gandhi, Nehru and Chavan," he stressed.
When asked that there was a common perception Pawar's help would be needed to bring the Congress into the mainstream, he said the need today was that all like-minded elements come together as the overall situation of the country was a little "anxious".
He added that farm bills were brought to Parliament and passed without any discussion. Pawar was speaking at a book launch and an event organised by Marathi daily Loksatta.
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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.
