Maha govt removed 16 rebel Sena MLAs' security due to 'political vendetta', claims Shinde
home minister denies move
Mumbai(PTI): Dissident Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Saturday alleged that the Maharashtra government has withdrawn the security cover provided at the residences of 16 rebel legislators, including himself, and dubbed the action as "political vendetta", although Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil denied any such move.
Shinde, who is currently camping in Guwahati with the rebel legislators, tweeted a letter signed by the 16 MLAs that is addressed to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil.
In the letter, the legislators said CM Thackeray and the leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance will be responsible if any harm is caused to their family members.
In his tweet, Shinde alleged that the security cover of the 16 rebel Sena legislators was withdrawn on the orders of Thackeray and Walse Patil due to "political vendetta".
"The government is responsible for the security of these legislators," he added.
However, Walse Patil said the chief minister and the home department did not order the removal of security cover of any MLA in the state.
''Allegations being made through Twitter are false and malicious," he said. In their letter, the legislators demanded that their security cover be reinstated.
"The sinister move is an attempt to break our resolve and arm-twist us to give into the demands of the MVA government comprising NCP and Congress goons. Various leaders of the MVA government are instigating the cadre of their respective parties to take up violence to intimidate us," it said.
"(Shiv Sena leader) Sanjay Raut has threatened us saying he would make it difficult for the MLAs who have left to return to the state and move around. The impact of these statements was borne by two of our members as their offices were vandalized by cadres of Shiv Sena merely after hours of withdrawing security of the MLAs," the letter added.
In Punjab, security of some high-profile persons was removed by the state government due to which most of the high profile persons became target of gangsters, the MLAs said.
"If our family members are harmed, then the chief minister, leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government like Sharad Pawar, Sanjay Raut and Aaditya Thackeray will be responsible," the letter said.
The security cover, which is provided at their residence as well as to their family members as per the protocol, has been withdrawn illegally and unlawfully as an act of revenge, it said.
The MLAs who have signed the letter are Eknath Shinde (Kopri-Pachpakhadi assembly segment), Bharat Gogavale (Mahad), Vishwanath Bhoir (Kalyan West), Mahendra Thorve (Karjat), Shantaram More (Bhiwandi rural), Shrinivas Wanga (Palghar), Lata Sonavane (Chopda), Sanjay Shirsat (Aurangabad West), Dynanraj Chaugule (Umerga), Yamini Jadhav (Byculla), Shahaji Patil (Sangola), Tanaji Sawant (Paranda), Shambhuraj Desai (Patan), Mahesh Shinde (Koregaon), Prakash Surve (Magathane) and Sanjayt Raimulkar (Mehekar).
The MVA government has been facing a crisis of survival after a majority of Sena MLAs shifted their loyalty to Shinde and are camping in Guwahati.
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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.
