Lok Sabha adjourns till noon amid Opposition din over farmer issues
New Delhi, Nov 29: Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till noon on Monday amid din as Opposition members sought to raise the issue of deaths of farmers during their protests against three farm laws, on the first day of the Winter Session.
While the government is set to repeal the three farm laws, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised the issue of deaths of farmers and later, members of the party raised demands for measures to ensure the well being of farmers.
Members from the Trinamool Congress, Congress and other parties trooped into the Well on the issue of farmers.
Initially, the Congress members were protesting from their seats and subsequently joined Trinamool Congress members who were already in the Well. They were also joined by members from some other Opposition parties.
Some Opposition members displayed placards which read 'save farmers'.
As the din continued, Speaker Om Birla told the protesting members that they should ensure the dignity of the House and that it was the first day of the Winter Session.
With no let up in the protests, Birla adjourned the proceedings till noon and the House managed to take up only one question during the Question Hour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Modi, in an address to the nation, announced that the laws will be repealed. Various farmer groups have been protesting against the laws for more than a year and many farmers have also lost their lives during the protests.
As soon as the House met for the day, two new members -- Congress' Pratibha Singh and BJP's Gyaneshwar Patil -- took oath. While Singh represents Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, Patil has been elected from Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh).
Obituary references were also made for eight former members who have passed away. They are B Senguttuvan, Kalyan Singh, Oscar Fernandes, Godil Prasad Anuragi, Shyam Sunder Somani, Rajnarayan Budholiya, Devwrat Singh and Hari Danve Pundlik.
The House stood in silence for a while as a mark of respect to the departed souls.
The session is scheduled to conclude on December 23.
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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.
