OBC quota row: Maharashtra BJP chief tells Supriya Sule to go home and cook; draws NCP's ire
Mumbai(PTI): Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil has stirred a controversy with his comments asking NCP MP Supriya Sule to "go home and cook" instead of being in politics, drawing a sharp reaction from her party.
Patil made the remarks on Wednesday during a protest by the state BJP unit in Mumbai for seeking reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in elections.
However, the BJP leader on Thursday said his words were part of a "rural style" of speaking and that he did not mean to disrespect women or Sule, who is the daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
"Whenever I meet Sule, we always greet each other with respect, Patil said.
After the Supreme Court recently allowed reservation for the OBCs in local body elections in Madhya Pradesh, Sule, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra, had said she had contacted MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan during his Delhi visit, but he did not divulge what he did to get nod for the reservation.
On Wednesday, Patil, during the BJP's protest, hit out at Sule, saying, "Why are you (Sule) even in politics, just go home and cook. Go to Delhi or to a cemetery, but get us the OBC quota. Despite being a Lok Sabha member, how come you don't know how to get an appointment with chief minister."
Taking a dim view of Patil's remarks, NCP's state women wing president Vidya Chavan, without taking his name, said a person who denied ticket to a sitting woman MLA and contested from her constituency is bad-mouthing an MP, who has been honoured with the Sansad Ratna award (for good performance) twice.
"We know you believe in Manusmriti, but we will not remain silent anymore," she said.
"He should learn to make chapattis so that he can help his wife at home," the NCP leader quipped.
Patil, who hails from Kolhapur, contested the 2019 state Assembly election from Pune's Kothrud seat, where sitting BJP MLA Medha Kulkarni was denied the ticket to make way for him.
Supriya Sule's husband Sadanand Sule also in a social media post criticised Patil's remarks, saying, "This is the Maharashtra BJP president speaking about Supriya. I have always maintained that they (BJP) are misogynistic and demean women whenever they can."
"I am proud of my wife who is a homemaker, mother and a successful politician, one amongst many other hardworking and talented women in India. This is an insult to all women, he said.
However, Patil on Thursday claimed his comments were blown out of proportion.
"My words were part of a style of speaking found commonly in rural parts of Maharashtra. At times, women in villages tell their children to go to a graveyard if they can't do certain things, he said.
The BJP leader also said leaving aside the cook remarks, nothing else in his comments was demeaning or insensitive towards women.
Similar is the case with the 'go to a cemetery' comment. The MVA government's failure to secure the OBC quota in civic bodies (elections) prompted me to say it. You will find many people using such words, he said.
Patil also said that Sadanand Sule should learn about the village life.
"There are many such proverbs used in rural areas...My comments have been blown out of proportion. Even Supriya Sule has responded to my comments considerately, saying I have the right to make comments, he 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.
