Gujarat BJP calls SC verdict on Zakia Jafri's plea 'victory of truth'
blames Congress for 'conspiracy' to frame Modi
Ahmedabad, Jun 24: Welcoming the Supreme Court's verdict on Zakia Jafri's petition as a "victory of truth", Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil on Friday said the petition was an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's detractors to malign his image.
Congress tried to frame Modi in riot cases as part of a political conspiracy despite the fact that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had given him a clean chit, he alleged.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed Zakia Jafri's plea alleging a larger conspiracy behind the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. The court upheld the SIT's clean chit to then chief minister Narendra Modi and 63 others.
Zakia, whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed during the riots, had challenged the SIT's closure report.
"In its judgment, the Supreme Court has said that the case was intentionally kept alive for 16 years due to some vested interests, and appropriate action should be taken against those who are involved in the misuse of legal process," said Paatil in a statement.
"The judgement is the victory of truth as the Supreme Court has given a clean chit to Modi today by rejecting the petition. Congress and other Modi opponents have once again failed to implicate the PM in false cases. The entire nation saw how low Congress can stoop to acquire power," the BJP leader added.
State BJP general secretary Rajni Patel said Modi's opponents and Congress wanted to stop his political rise.
"Anti-Modi and anti-Gujarat people have been trying to stop Modi and Gujarat's progress for a long time. Since Congress had also received a hint that Modi would form government at the Centre, it also joined those elements to stop Modi. The SC noticed that the case was intentionally kept alive" said Patel.
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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.
