Opposition MPs walk out of RS, LS to protest suspension of 12 MPs
New Delhi, Nov 30: The Congress-led opposition on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to protest the suspension of 12 opposition members of the Upper House with leaders saying they will continue to raise their voices on the matter.
After the walkout, opposition MPs demonstrated outside Mahatma Gandhi's statue inside Parliament complex, raising slogans against the government and its "dictatorial attitude".
A day after the MPs were suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the entire winter session, the Congress said the move was against the rules and practices of the House.
Accusing the government of adopting the path of confrontation with the opposition, the Congress said talk of cooperation in the smooth running of the House "is a sham".
"We and other opposition leaders opposed the suspension of MPs in Rajya Sabha and under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and TR Baalu staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha.
"We have decided to oppose the way democracy has been tattered in Rajya Sabha by suspending 12 MPs. We have decided to oppose such dictatorial attitude of the government," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, said after the walkout.
This government, he added, is not giving opposition MPs the opportunity to speak inside the house.
"The government wants to threaten the opposition and suppress their voice by suspending its members in Rajya Sabha. We cannot keep quiet about the suspension of our members in the Rajya Sabha," Chowdhury told reporters outside Parliament.
His party colleague Anand Sharma, Congress deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, said the opposition is seriously concerned over the developments. What has happened is in violation of precedents, rules and practices, Sharma said.
"We have urged the chairman to revoke the suspension and the opposition protest will continue. The rules don't allow to take action against members over what happened in the last session," Sharma said.
He alleged that the government had embarked on the path of confrontation with the opposition.
The 12 MPs suspended for the remaining part of the winter session for their misconduct and unruly behaviour during the last session include Congress' Chhaya Verma, Shiv Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi and TMC's Dola Sen.
Of the 12, six are from the Congress, two each from the TMC and Shiv Sena and one each from the CPM and the CPI.
In the Lok Sabha, Trinamool Congress members neither joined the protests nor walked out. In the Rajya Sabha, the party's members staged a walkout a short while after the other opposition MPs. Its leader Derek O'Brien said it's not the opposition but the 80 MPs of the treasury benches who should be suspended as they blocked certain discussions during the previous monsoon session.
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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.
