'Jumla' version of COVID-19 vaccine story will not save lives: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Oct 27: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said actual vaccinations and not the "jumla (rhetoric) version" of the COVID-19 vaccine story would save lives and pointed out to the large number of people who are yet to be vaccinated in the country.
He shared an article by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a newspaper which lauded Indian scientists and researchers on achieving the 100-core vaccination milestone but pointed out to the large number of people and children who are yet to be inoculated against COVID-19.
"Jumla-version of the vaccine story won't save lives. Actual vaccination will," he said on Twitter using the hashtag "#DutyToVaccinate".
The Congress also shared on Twitter Sonia Gandhi's article and quoted her, "The PM likes to emphasise that vaccines are free, while conveniently forgetting that they have always been free. It is the BJP government that moved away from India's universal free vaccination policy."
Sharing the article on Twitter, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "The floundering economy can be turned around if we can drive away the dark clouds of COVID19. That requires us to ramp up the pace of the rollout of vaccines to all, completely free, including to our children."
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also quoted the Congress president and said,
"Not hollow announcements but genuine execution is the key to not only health of our citizens but wealth of our Nation".
"Vaccine for all..including our children.. usher in the festive season with genuine optimism," he also said quoting Sonia Gandhi and shared her article on Twitter.
In the article "The vaccination milestone and a distant goal", Sonia Gandhi pointed out that the Government ought to realise that vaccinating all Indians as quickly as possible is linked to their health and progress.
"Our frontline health-care workers deserve our fulsome congratulations for crossing the milestone of 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. They, along with our scientists, researchers, medical professionals, and vaccine manufacturers, have heroically overcome multiple obstacles in the quest to protect our citizens from COVID-19. Thanks to their efforts, our vaccination drive has picked up pace after the initial months of delay, indecision, and confusion," Gandhi has said in her article.
She also said that this milestone also marks the triumph of science and of India's research and manufacturing infrastructure built and nurtured over decades.
The Congress president has also pointed out that the promise of all eligible Indians being doubly vaccinated by the end of 2021 is unlikely to be accomplished.
"The hollow announcement has not been accompanied by either appropriate planning or execution. Experts assert that we will miss this target by at least five to six months," she said.
Jumla-version of the vaccine story won’t save lives.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 27, 2021
Actual vaccination will. #DutyToVaccinate pic.twitter.com/oFRBWkHwMW
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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.
