New Delhi, Dec 3: Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Friday hit back at poll strategist Prashant Kishor over his remarks that the Congress' leadership is not the "divine right of an individual", saying politics is not only about winning elections.
In an apparent swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Kishor had said the space represented by the Congress is vital but its leadership is not the "divine right of an individual" particularly when it has lost 90 per cent elections in the last 10 years.
Hitting back at Kishor, Khurshid said, "Lesson for PK: Divinity is about Faith. Democracy is about faith. Other people cannot write the script for democratic choice."
"If democratic choice not understood go back to school and begin afresh. Perhaps differentiating Faith and faith will answer BJP," the former Union minister said in a tweet.
"PK has curious take on democracy. He uses divinity to question democratic choice of Congress workers. This tells us that copy book wisdom about politics does not factor human conduct. Politics is not ONLY about winning elections. But how does commerce know?" Khurshid said in another tweet.
Kishor and his I-PAC team have been working for the Trinamool Congress since the assembly poll in West Bengal and are working on devising strategies in expanding the party nationally.
His remarks had come at a time the TMC has made a conscious effort to not follow Congress' leadership of the opposition in Parliament and questioned the party's ability to take on the BJP.
Lesson for PK: Divinity is about Faith. Democracy is about faith. Other people cannot write the script for democratic choice. If democratic choice not understood go back to school and begin afresh. Perhaps differentiating Faith and faith will answer BJP
— Salman Khurshid (@salman7khurshid) December 3, 2021
PK has curious take on democracy. He uses divinity to question democratic choice of Congress workers. This tells us that copy book wisdom about politics does not factor human conduct. Politics is not ONLY about winning elections. But how does commerce know?
— Salman Khurshid (@salman7khurshid) December 3, 2021
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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.
