Privatisation a way to end reservation: Priyanka Gandhi
Firozabad (UP)(PTI): Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday attacked the government over "privatisation" of some institutions, saying it is a way to end reservation.
During an interactive session with women as part of her party's "ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon" campaign here, she said all political parties have started talking about women after the Congress raised their issues.
She also said the Congress announcing to give 40 per cent of tickets to women in the Uttar Pradesh polls is a big initiative. "If the bill on women reservation has not been passed in the Parliament till now, this move will ensure its passage."
The Congress leader was responding to a question about the fate of the women reservation bill. She took questions from a cross section of women during the interaction.
Alleging that all big government institutions have been "sold to the big industrialist friends" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said, "It means that the reservation that you have today, will you get it in private jobs? This is a way to end reservation and this is not in national interest as most government jobs come from there."
She also said that during her interaction with women at different places she found that most of them felt that they are being exploited.
The salary or honorarium of Anganwadi workers, ASHA bahus, Shiksha Mitras has not been hiked nor their services regularized, she said.
"When they ask for their rights they are beaten up. We have seen time and again that this government has rejected the rights of women. They are not able to understand the power of women," she said.
"Their mentality and ideology is that they hand over a gas cylinder to you and think that their responsibility is over. How you will get the cylinder refilled or how you will be strengthened, get your education completed or get employment is not asked," she said.
"They think that by giving one gas cylinder you will give them votes, when they come to you in elections they never talk about empowerment or betterment. Schemes are announced but not implemented on the ground," she alleged while referring to the government's Ujjawala yojana.
She added, "We have made a manifesto in which we have said what we want to do for you in the field of health, education and employment. We will give jobs to 20 lakhs of which eight lakh to women, will work for your self-respect, security and for making you strong in a proper manner.
Cautioning women against falling for caste and religion cards during the polls, she said, "When a leader knows that at the election time they will get votes on caste and religion, why will they work? They will only work when they know that if they have not done any work they will not get a vote again."
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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.
