Nobody can take away 'bow and arrow' symbol from Shiv Sena, says Uddhav Thackeray
dares rebels to face mid-term polls
Mumbai, Jul 8: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said nobody can take away his party's 'bow and arrow' symbol, a remark made in the wake of the rebel Sena faction's assertion that it was the real claimant of the symbol.
Addressing reporters at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra, he also dared the party rebels and the BJP to face mid-term elections in Maharashtra, saying that people should be allowed to take a stand on the toppling of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by him. He said if people do not favour his party in the elections, he would accept it.
Thackeray said the Supreme Court's verdict on the disqualification plea of 16 rebel MLAs scheduled to be given on July 11 will decide not just the future of the Shiv Sena, but also of Indian democracy.
Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde - now the chief minister of Maharashtra - had last month raised a banner of revolt against the party leadership, a move that subsequently led to the fall of the MVA government comprising Sena, NCP and Congress. A day after Thackeray resigned as the state chief minister on June 29, Shinde took oath of the top post with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis being sworn in as his deputy. Shinde enjoys the support of 40 rebel MLAs of the Sena.
Hardening his stand against the rebels, Thackeray asked how they can claim to love the 'Matoshree' and Thackerays if the dissidents align with those who have subjected him and his family to the worst kind of criticism and even attempted to "destroy his sons' lives".
"According to the law, no one can take away the bow and arrow symbol from Shiv Sena. I am saying this after talking to constitutional experts," he said.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil had on Wednesday said the faction led by Shinde was the real claimant of the party's 'bow and arrow' poll symbol.
Seeking to assuage the concerns of his party workers, Thackeray said people do not just look at the party symbol while voting, but they also look at the person and also whether the candidate belongs to the Shiv Sena.
The Shiv Sena as a political party and the legislature party are two separate identities, he said, adding that even if just one, 50 or even 100 MLAs leave the party, it does not cease to exist.
"Confusion is being created. Legislature party and registered party are two different identities. No one can take along the party workers with them," Thackeray said.
He also demanded mid-term elections in Maharashtra, saying that people should be allowed to take a stand on toppling of the MVA government led by him.
"There should be mid-term polls. If we have made a mistake, people will not favour us and that will be acceptable to us," he said.
Earlier this week, Sena leader Sanjay Raut claimed that his party will win over 100 seats if mid-term polls are held in the state.
On Thursday, the rebel faction's spokesperson had said that if there was any possibility of reconciliation with the parent party, then Thackeray should also talk to the BJP as the dissidents have aligned with that party.
Thackeray hit out at the rebel group for keeping mum when the BJP targeted and "abused" him and his family in the last two-and-a-half years.
"You keep in touch with them and betray your own party like this," he said without naming anyone.
He wondered whether the rebel MLAs' love for him and his family was real.
You are sitting next to those who criticised the Thackeray family in the worst forms. You are hugging them. They tried to ruin my sons' lives...," he said.
He said the change of power in the state could have happened with grace and in a dignified manner in 2019 and not with "betrayal" as was done last week.
He was referring to the Sena and BJP's parting of ways after the 2019 Assembly poll results over the issue of rotational chief minister.
Thackeray said the Supreme Court's verdict to be delivered on July 11 will decide not just the future of Shiv Sena but also the future of Indian democracy.
"I trust the judiciary. The Supreme Court order (on the plea on disqualification of rebel MLAs) is not restricted to Shiv Sena alone, but it will also show direction on which side the democracy is heading. The country is looking at what decision the SC gives because this will also show the future of democracy in the country and whether the four pillars of democracy are discharging their duties or now," he said.
Thackeray also said he would take a decision which candidate to support for the presidential election after consulting the party MPs. Earlier this week, Sena's Lok Sabha member Rahul Shewale urged him to direct the party MPs to vote for the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
During his press conference, Thackeray did not take any questions from the media.
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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.
