KMC Polls: Sporadic violence reported; 63.37 pc voter turnout recorded till 5 PM
Kolkata, Dec 19: Sporadic incidents of violence including hurling of bombs at two booths marred an otherwise humdrum polling to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) as 63.37 per cent of the nearly 40.5 lakh voters exercised their franchise till 5 pm on Sunday, when voting ended.
Two incidents of hurling of crude bombs were reported in Kolkata's Sealdah and Khanna areas. Police contingents were rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control, a State Election Commission official said.
"A total of 63.37 per cent of total votes were polled till 5 PM. Polling has by and large been peaceful barring a few incidents. Two incidents of hurling of crude bombs outside polling centres were reported," he said.
Although the SEC claimed that only one person was injured, police said that three people were injured, with one of them losing a leg.
Police said that 72 people have been arrested so far for disturbing the peace during the polling period.
Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said that if any ruling party leader was found to be involved in violence during the polls, strict action will be taken "within 24 hours".
"We don't support any form of violence, and strict action will be taken within 24 hours if any TMC leader is found to be stopping the process of free and fair polls. I would request the media to come out with related footage and evidence (if available)," he told reporters after casting his vote.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said that his security personnel stayed outside the booth when he went to cast his vote during the polls, in adherence to an order of the state election commissioner.
He said peaceful polling with no fear in the minds of voters and absence of interference of the state apparatus are at the heart of any election process.
"My security personnel adhered to the order issued on Saturday night State Election Commissioner Sourav Das allowed the facility to only two persons -- Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee," he said.
"I had called Sourav Das twice and tried to impress upon him that polling should be held peacefully and without fear, and the administration should not interfere in any manner in this," Dhankhar said.
The opposition BJP and the CPI(M) alleged that the TMC has forcibly stopped opposition booth agents from entering polling centres in several wards, a charge that the ruling party termed as "baseless".
CPI(M) activists staged a road blockade in Bagha Jatin area alleging that their polling agents were not allowed inside the booths.
The BJP state leadership announced that it will conduct peaceful demonstrations across the state in protest against "violence and malpractices" in the polls.
"We will stage peaceful sit-in demonstrations across the state against the ongoing violence (in the KMC polls). The way looting of votes took place with the active help of state administration is shameful for our democracy. This is the reason we had asked for central forces to ensure free and fair polls," BJP state spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said.
Former Kolkata mayor and senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim dismissed the allegations as "baseless and politically motivated".
"The BJP knows they will face defeat in the elections. So, they are now making such excuses. The elections have been very peaceful, barring few small incidents," he said.
In ward no. 22, BJP's sitting councillor and former deputy mayor of Kolkata, Mina Devi Purohit alleged that she was attacked by TMC activists, an allegation that the ruling party denied.
In ward no. 45, Congress alleged the TMC has brought in fake voters and a scuffle ensued between workers of both the parties.
The grand old party alleged that Amitabha Chakraborti, the election agent of Congress councillor Santosh Pathak, was beaten up by TMC activists inside the booth.
In Jain School booth of the ward, clashes were reported between TMC and Congress activists inside the booth. The police later brought the situation under control.
The TMC, during the run-up to the KMC polls, had warned party candidates against using force during the civic polls, and said that those found to be involved in violence would be thrown out of the party.
"The incidents of hurling of crude bombs and violence in some areas prove that TMC's instruction to its candidates was just on pen and paper and nothing was implemented on the ground," CPI(M) leader Sayandeep Mitra said.
TMC leader Partha Bhowmick dubbed the allegations as baseless and said "polling has been peaceful in all the KMC wards", and those who have hurled bombs would be "identified and arrested" by the police.
Voting began at 7 AM in 4,949 polling centres with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols amid tight security. A total of 40,48,357 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to seal the fate of 950 candidates in the fray.
The SEC has declared 1,139 of the 4,949 polling centres as "sensitive".
A total of 23,500 Kolkata Police personnel have been deployed across the city, and route marches and area domination exercises were conducted in various parts of the metropolis, an officer of the force said.
He said that more than 200 police pickets have also been set up at crucial points across the city.
The ruling Trinamool Congress is fighting to retain the civic board for the third consecutive term, while the BJP will contest CPI(M) to secure the second position. The TMC had swept all the 16 assembly segments in the metropolis in this year's assembly elections.
The counting of votes will take place on December 21.
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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.
