Lok Sabha polls: Nakul Nath declares assets worth Rs 700 crore
Bhopal, Mar 28: Nakul Nath, the lone Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh who has been renominated from Chhindwara by his party, has declared assets worth nearly Rs 700 crore, according to his election affidavit.
Nath is among the 113 candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in the central state on April 19. The filing of nomination papers for this phase drew to a close on Wednesday.
As per his affidavit, Nakul Nath's wealth has gone up by Rs 40 crore in the past five years.
In his latest submission to the Election Commission, Nakul Nath has declared movable property, including cash, shares and bonds, worth Rs 649.51 crore and Rs 48.07 crore of immovable property.
The sitting Chhindwara MP, son of former chief minister and influential Congress leader Kamal Nath, had topped the list of 475 Lok Sabha crorepati members in 2019, according to the non-profit Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
According to ADR, the entrepreneur politician had declared assets worth Rs 660 crore in 2019 when he contested from Chhindwara, the pocket borough of his father, and emerged as the only Congress winner in the state.
That year, the BJP had won 28 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh.
Kamal Nath, who successfully contested from Chhindwara, had declared assets worth Rs 134 crore in his poll affidavit ahead of last year's assembly elections, according to ADR.
Notably, Nakul Nath frequently uses an aircraft but does not have a car, according to his affidavit.
To breach the citadel of the Naths, the BJP is raking up Kamal Nath's flying machines to script a narrative of wealthy-versus-commoner after pitting its candidate Vivek Sahu against Nakul Nath.
The Congress has been on a winning streak from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat since 1952, it has lost just once to the BJP. Kamal Nath had won this seat for a record nine times.
"A big Congress leader. A very big leader... keeps two, not one, helicopters at his house. When he returns, he lands the chopper right inside his home. He had been an MP chief minister," Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had said at an election rally in Sidhi recently.
Yadav said his government had decided that there would be a helicopter but the poor will have access to it. "To rush poor people to hospitals for urgent treatment," Yadav had said, seeking to shed light on the state's recently launched air ambulance service for citizens during medical emergencies.
BJP candidate Sahu has also attacked the former CM over his helicopter use during public outreaches. According to locals, Nath has two helipads at his residence in the Shikrapur area of Chhindwara.
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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.
