People of J-K headed towards poverty, maharaja's rule better than present govt: Ghulam Nabi Azad
Jammu, Dec 25: There has been a slump in business and developmental activities in Jammu and Kashmir over the last two and a half years and people are heading towards poverty, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said here.
In a veiled attack at the BJP, Azad said the autocratic rule of the maharajas was far better than the current dispensation, which stopped the traditional practice of the biannual 'Darbar Move'.
Under the Darbar Move, the civil secretariat and other move offices used to function in Srinagar for six months of summer and in Jammu for the remaining six months of the year. It was initiated by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had on June 20 announced the end to the practice.
"I was always supportive of the Darbar Move. The maharajas gave us three things which were in the interest of the public of both Kashmir and Jammu regions, and one of them was the Darbar Move," Azad told reporters here.
He said the maharaja (Hari Singh) ensured protection of land and jobs from people who were not from the region.
"Today after so many years, we see the maharaja who used to be called a dictator was much better than the present government. The actions of the maharaja were for the welfare of the public, while the present government has taken away all the three things (Darbar Move, protection of land and jobs) from us," he said, referring to the abrogation of Article 370.
On a series of public meetings he held across Jammu and Kashmir over the past two and a half months, the senior Congress leader said they had nothing to do with upcoming assembly elections.
"People are anguished as there is no business, no jobs, high prices and developmental works have come to standstill," he said.
"I was of the opinion that people in cities are happy. Ragunath Bazar, City Chowk and Kanak Mandi (in Jammu) represents the pulse of the whole business community. Every shop I visited, I found that people are disappointed because business is down for the past five years," Azad said.
"The overall situation in whole Jammu and Kashmir is very bad, and we are badly heading towards poverty," he said.
High inflation and zero developmental work are the main contributors for the present situation, the Congress leader said.
He, however, expressed happiness over the growing political activity in the region. "Politicians lost contact with the public over the past two years (since August 2019). We started and others followed, which is a welcome development," Azad said.
He avoided a direct answer on the draft report of the Delimitation Commission to enhance six assembly seats for Jammu and one in Kashmir, saying, "For me, Jammu and Kashmir is one, and so, I cannot take sides for one or the other region."
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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.
