HM Amit Shah, NSA Ajit Doval, Rahul Gandhi pay last respects to CDS Rawat, his wife
New Delhi(PTI): Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday laid wreaths on the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat, who were among the 13 killed in the military chopper crash in Tamil Nadu.
The mortal remains of Gen Rawat and his wife were kept at their official residence here before cremation.
Outside Gen Rawat's residence, people raised slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Gen Rawat amar rahe', and 'Uttarakhand ka heera amar rahe'.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad and British Ambassador to India Alexander Ellis was among the other leaders who paid their last respects to Gen Rawat and his wife.
Former Defence Minister A K Antony, DMK leader Kanimozhi, Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar, BJP leader Baijayant Jay Panda, Delhi LG Anil Baijal, Minister of State Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale, also paid their respects to Rawat and his wife.
"It's a terrible and an irreparable loss to the country at a crucial time," Antony said.
Paying his respects to Gen Rawat, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge described him as a "good man".
"It is a loss to the nation, he was a pride of the nation," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said after paying tributes.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also laid their wreaths on the mortal remains of Gen Rawat and his wife.
Gen Rawat, his wife, and 11 other defence personnel were killed when a Mi17V5 helicopter carrying them crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
As India's first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Rawat was tasked to bring in theatre command and jointness among the three services, and he was pushing it with a tough approach and specific timelines in the last two years.
Known to be forthright, fearless, and blunt at times, the 63-year-old strongly backed a policy of hot pursuit in dealing with cross-border terrorism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir when he was the Army Chief between 2016 and 2019.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
