No guns or stones, fight for restoration of snatched rights peacefully: Mehbooba Mufti tells youth
Jammu, Dec 18: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday called on the youth to join the struggle for restoration of their rights "snatched" by the Centre and said non-violence, not "stones or guns", was the way ahead.
The former chief minister also said the BJP-led government had intelligence inputs about the civilian killings by terrorists, but it deliberately refrained from cracking the whip.
You have to understand the situation and become our voice if you do not show courage today, the coming generations will raise a question as our land, jobs and even minor minerals are going to outsiders. It is imperative for us to stand up and struggle for our rights..., Mehbooba said at the youth convention in the border district of Rajouri.
Insisting on a peaceful struggle for the cause, Mehbooba said, God forbid, I will never ask you to pick up stones or guns. I know they have a bullet ready against those treading this path. You have to raise your voice and join us in a democratic struggle for our snatched rights.
Referring to the recent killings of civilians, including those belonging to minority communities, in the valley by terrorists, she said the government had prior intelligence inputs about the attacks but did nothing.
Those who were killed were our own people, but 900 Kashmiri youth were arrested. Another 1,000 youth were picked up when the home minister visited Jammu and Kashmir (last month). Our jails are packed and hence, those arrested are now being shifted to the Agra jail, she said.
Mehbooba said the government is coining words such as like white collared militants, OGW (over ground workers) and hybrid militants to justify the arrests and killings.
She asked the youth why the Kashmir issue, with "thousands of sacrifices over 30 years", cannot be resolved peacefully when the farmers peacefully protesting against the three farm laws could convince the government to repeal them.
Mehbooba said she had full faith in the words of her father, who was proud over the granting of a separate flag, constitution and land rights by India to the people of Jammu and Kashmir .
Accusing the BJP of being anti-Muslim , she told the youth, For them, we are the sons of (Mughal emperors) Babur and Aurangzeb, termites and cancer....you have to be our voice as they will continue their attempts to divide people to give legitimacy to its illegitimate decision of August 5, 2019.
Such a decision was the only prerogative of the constituent assembly. Only it could have taken a decision on Article 370. So, the decision taken on August 5, 2019, was illegitimate and unconstitutional, Mehbooba said.
She said the people of Jammu are now realising the fallout of the decision as their land and jobs are going to outsiders, while the land in Kashmir is being provided to make concrete homes to security forces.
Jammu and Kashmir is a Muslim majority state, though the people of all faiths lived in complete harmony with each other. They are making attempts to change its demography through the August 5, 2019, decision, Mehbooba said.
The PDF chief said she had not come to seek votes but wanted to caution the people about attempts to divide them on the basis of religion and caste.
They are creating new parties every day to divide the people and want to win the next Assembly elections to validate its wrong decision (abrogation of Article 370) through the assembly, she said.
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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.
