J&K BJP leader booked for hurting religious sentiments, relieved of all party posts
Jammu, Nov 2: A senior Jammu and Kashmir BJP leader has been booked for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of a community through his remarks, prompting the party to relieve him of all his responsibilities including the post of J&K secretary.
An FIR has been registered against former MLC Vikram Randhawa after a video surfaced online purportedly showing him making "disparaging" comments over the incidents of celebration of Pakistan's win over India in a T20 world cup cricket match.
"An FIR has been registered against Randhawa at a police station here under section 295-A and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code and further investigation is on," a police official said.
Section 295-A pertains to deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class, while section 505 (2) gives powers to the police to arrest anyone who makes a statement which creates or promotes enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes.
In a communication, J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina said, "Randhawa has been relieved from all the party posts/responsibilities including the post of JK-UT Secretary with immediate effect."
The order said BJP JK-UT vice president Sham Choudhary, a former minister, would be the new incharge for district Rajouri in place of Randhawa.
The party's Jammu and Kashmir unit had taken note of the video and served Randhawa a showcause notice on Monday, asking him to submit a public apology.
In the notice, the BJP disciplinary committee, headed by Sunil Sethi, also asked him to explain his position within 48 hours.
"A video has gone viral in social media in which you are seen making absolutely reckless and hatred-promoting remarks against a particular community. This is unacceptable to the party and has brought disrepute and embarrassment to the party," the notice read.
The BJP Jammu and Kashmir president, who ordered the disciplinary action against the former legislator, had said he was personally hurt after hearing the comments of Randhawa.
He said the remarks "are totally against the basic principles of the party which believes in respecting all faiths and taking everyone along in accordance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slogan of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas' (inclusive development)".
Randhawa's remarks caused outrage across Jammu and Kashmir with people demanding action against him in accordance with the law.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah has said, "So good to see this man making friends with Kashmiri people! He should be made an example out of and the law should deal with him firmly to dissuade others from being as abusive as this man has been."
BJP spokesperson Sunil Sethi said the disciplinary committee has given an interim report in view of the huge impact of reckless statement of Randhawa and the bad name it has brought to the party.
He said the report has recommended to immediately relieve him of all official party positions pending finalising of disciplinary proceedings.
"Party President Ravinder Raina agreed with the report and decided to take strict and strong action against Randhawa without wasting any time as party believes in respecting all religions particularly women.
"And it is unacceptable to party that a person occupying high position in party may makes statement which will hurt religious sentiments of anyone," Sethi, who is also chairman of the three-member disciplinary committee, said in a statement.
He welcomed the registration of the FIR against Randhawa.
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.
