Murmu has better chances to win prez polls after Maha development: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata, Jul 1: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said opposition parties might have considered backing NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader of the saffron party from Odisha, had the BJP held a discussion with them before fielding her.
Maintaining that Murmu had better chances to win the July 18 presidential election, with NDA's numbers having got boosted after the change of guard in Maharashtra, Banerjee stressed that "a consensus candidate is always better for the country".
"BJP's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu has better chances (to win presidential polls) because of Maharashtra development. If the BJP had asked for our suggestion before announcing the name of Murmu, we could have considered it, too, bearing greater interests in mind," Banerjee told reporters on the sidelines of a Rath Yatra programme here.
Non-BJP parties, including the Congress as well as the TMC, have named former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as the joint nominee for the presidential polls.
The TMC supremo said that she "will go by what the opposition parties decide".
"We would have tried (fielding a woman). Some 16-17 political parties came together to take a decision, I will not be able to take a call alone. I want the presidential elections to be held peacefully. I have equal respect for all religions, races and creeds.
"I feel sad that there is a contest. But I think all Dalits, all tribals are with us. We do not create divisions among people," she added.
Hitting out at Banerjee, meanwhile, Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury alleged that the TMC chief made the statement on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's instructions .
"She made a secret pact with Modi and that got exposed once again. She chose the candidate (for presidential polls) and we supported that. Our whimsical didi' is now acting as a BJP agent. The BJP plunged into the elections with Droupadi Murmu after ensuring that it has the numbers... It's not a big discovery that Murmu will win," Chowdhury said, when contacted.
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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.
