Maha crisis: Thackeray cries betrayal, slams rebel Shinde; says BJP wants to 'finish off' Sena
Mumbai/Guwahati (PTI): Taking dissident Shiv Sena MLAs head on, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday accused them of betrayal and challenged them to try and wean away common party workers as he slammed rebel leader Eknath Shinde and also tore into the BJP, saying it wants to "finish off" his outfit and does not want to share its Hindu votebank.
As the four-day-old political crisis, triggered due to a revolt by a group of Sena MLAs led by cabinet minister Shinde, showed no signs of heading towards a resolution, Thackeray upped the ante and said those who want to leave can do so and communicated directly with Shiv Sainiks and mid-level functionaries, and also met NCP president Sharad Pawar, whose party is the second largest constituent in the ruling MVA alliance.
Thackeray, whose government is also supported by the Congress, dared Shinde and the BJP to try and take away the Shiv Sena cadre and those who vote for the party.
In a virtual address to party corporators, he said the common Shiv Sena workers were his "wealth", and as long as they were with him, he did not care about criticism by others.
The Shiv Sena has been "betrayed by its own people," he said, as his two-and-a-half-year old coalition government faced a crisis after a majority of Sena MLAs joined Shinde, who is camping in Guwahati.
"We gave these rebels tickets to contest assembly elections despite many of you being aspirants for the same. These people are disgruntled after getting elected owing to your hard work, and you are standing by the party in this crucial time. I can't thank you enough," said Thackeray, who is also the Shiv Sena president.
"I had told Eknath Shinde to look into complaints regarding alliance partners. He told me that legislators were pressurizing him that the Sena should join hands with the BJP. I told him to bring these MLAs to me, let's discuss this. The BJP treated us badly, didn't honour promises. Many of the rebels have cases filed against them. So if they go with the BJP, they will become clean, if they stayed with us, they will go to jail. Is this a sign of friendship?" Thackeray asked.
The CM attacked Shinde without naming him.
"If a Shiv Sena worker is going to become a chief minister, you should go (with the BJP). But if you are, after all, going to become a deputy chief minister, you should have told me, I would have made you deputy chief minister," he said, apparently referring to Shinde.
If Sena workers felt that he was incapable of running the party, he was ready to resign as party president, Thackeray further said.
"The Shiv Sena is an ideology... the BJP wants to finish it off because they don't want to share the Hindu votebank with anyone," he said, adding that late Bal Thackeray had initiated the alliance with the BJP only to avoid a split in Hindu votes.
"You (referring to Shinde) have taken away those who got elected. But if you have the courage, try and take away those who got you elected. Those who want to leave are free to go openly.... I will create a new Shiv Sena, Thackeray added. In a separate virtual address to party functionaries earlier in the day, the CM said rebel leader's son is a Lok Sabha MP and should his son Aaditya Thackeray, a Cabinet member, not also grow politically.
Thackeray said Shinde was given the key department of urban development which is usually headed by the chief minister of the day and blamed the opposition BJP for the rebellion in the Shiv Sena.
"You make take the fruits and flowers of tree. But till the roots (rank and file) are strong, I need not worry. The roots can never be uprooted. Every season, new leaves and fruits blossom. Leaves blighted by disease need to be removed and thrown. Consider the present situation in this context," Thackeray told the party rank and file.
"I have given up the temptation by moving out the chief minister's official bungalow (Varsha) but not my determination to fight back," he asserted and made it clear he is not after power.
The CM has moved to his family residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra.
"The department of urban development, which is currently with Shinde, had been always with the chief minister. Your son (Shrikant Shinde) can be an MP, but should not Aaditya also grow politically?"the CM asked.
Shrikant Shinde is the Lok Sabha MP from Kalyan, while the CM's son, Aaditya Thackeray, is a state cabinet minister.
Attacking Shinde, Thackeray said, "He was made a minister twice after Balasaheb Thackeray's death (in 2012). Twice we were in power (after 2012). He was given the departments which are normally kept by the chief minister himself. You should keep Thackeray name out of your politics and see if you can survive. One can never detach the Thackerays from the Shiv Sena." Thackeray said in the last two years, he battled his own ill health and also presided over the state's fight again the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maintiaing a defiant posture, Shinde claimed the group led by him was the "real Shiv Sena", and also hit back, saying he and his supporters will not be intimidated by disqualification threats.
In a series of tweets posted late Thursday night, Shinde, who is camping in Guwahati along with 37 Sena legislators and 10 independents, said as per the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, a party whip is issued for the legislature proceedings and not for attending a meeting.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut admitted the party's numbers in the Legislative Assembly have dwindled, but expressed confidence that the rebel MLAs will support the MVA combine during a floor test.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena suffered yet another setback as one more party MLA, Dilip Lande, joined the camp of rebel legislators.
Meanwhile, the Assam unit of the Congress staged demonstrations near a luxury hotel in Guwahati, where rebel Sena leader Shinde and other MLAs accompanying him are staying demanding that they leave the north-eastern state as it is reeling under a devastating flood.
Assam Congress chief Bhupen Bora also wrote a letter to Shinde telling him that their presence at such a critical juncture has "defamed" the BJP-ruled state. Congress leaders were not allowed to enter the hotel and a police official deployed there was requested to hand over the letter to the Sena leader.
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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.
