NDA widens gap with Opposition in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi: The NDA is now comfortably placed in the Rajya Sabha after the biennial election as the BJP's strong numbers in the assemblies and defection from the Opposition resulted in the saffron party having 86 seats in the House and the Congress merely 41.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance now has nearly 100 members in the 245-member House. If the support of friendly parties like the AIADMK (9), BJD (9), YSR Congress Party (6), and several allied nominated members and smaller parties is counted, then the Modi government is unlikely to face any serious numerical challenge there.
The Election Commission had announced biennial polls to 61 seats, including 55 in March, but the process was delayed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
With 42 members elected unopposed earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party won eight, Congress and the YSR Congress four each and others three of the 19 seats that went to polls on Friday.
The BJP won a couple of more seats than it could have on the strength of its numbers because of defection from several Congress legislators in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
In total, the BJP won 17, Congress nine, BJP ally JDU three, BJD and the TMC four each, AIADMK and DMK three each, NCP, RJD and the TRS two each, and others rest, official sources said.
The crumbling strength of the Opposition, whose key pillars include the Congress, TMC and the Left, has been evident since last year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP to its biggest ever victory as it bagged 303 seats in Lok Sabha election.
It prompted a host of defections from the Opposition, including Rajya Sabha members of the Congress, TDP and the Samajwadi Party, to the BJP, and many non-NDA regional parties chose to back the government in Parliament on crucial issues.
The Congress has accused the BJP of horse-trading, alleging that it had engineered defections from its ranks for political gains.
The government managed big support in Parliament to its resolution to nullify Article 370 and key bills like the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories and criminal prosecution for instant divorce by Muslim men.
The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was also passed in both the Houses.
Out of the 61 new members, 43 are first-timers, which include BJP's Jyotiraditya Scindia and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress. Both have been members of Lok Sabha, but lost in elections in 2019.
Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and former Lok Sabha deputy speaker M Thambi Durai have also been elected to Rajya Sabha.
The legislative agenda of the Modi government in its first term was often hampered in Parliament due to the Opposition's numerical superiority in the Upper House, and the Congress had more numbers than the BJP in first few years.
However, the BJP's impressive gains in the assembly elections, coupled with the Congress losing power in several states, resulted in slow but steady rise in the government's numbers in the House.
Though the below-par show of the BJP in state selections since 2018 has also meant that its goal of gaining a majority on its own in the Rajya Sabha remains far from being achieved.
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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.
