Repeal of farm laws defeat of arrogance of power; announcement made with eye on polls: Shiv Sena
Mumbai, Nov 20: The Shiv Sena on Saturday described the Centre's announcement to repeal the three contentious farm laws as the "defeat of arrogance of power", and said it was done as the BJP feared a backlash in the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to withdraw the laws is a victory of the farmers' unity, an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana' said, adding that this "wisdom" is a result of the BJP's loss in the recently-held bypolls in 13 states.
The prime minister, in an address to the nation on Friday morning, announced the government's decision to repeal the three farm laws, which were at the centre of protests by farmers for the last one year.
"The Union government suppressed the voice of the opposition and got the three farm bills passed in Parliament. The Centre completely ignored the farmers' protests. Supply of water and electricity was snapped at the protest site. During their struggle, the farmers were even labelled as Khalistanis, Pakistanis and terrorists," the Sena said.
Despite all this, the farmers did not budge from their demand of the withdrawal of the laws that were in the interest of the private sector and capitalists. As many as 550 farmers died during the protests. A Union minister's son crushed farmers under his vehicle at Lakhimpur Kheri, but PM Modi did not even condole their death, it added.
"But after realising that the farmers won't end their protest and sensing BJP's defeat in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the Modi government decided to repeal the laws. This is a victory of the farmers' unity," it said.
'Mahabharata' and 'Ramayana' teach us that arrogance ultimately gets crushed, but the fake Hindutvawadis seemed to have forgotten this and launched an attack on truth and justice like Ravana, the ruling party in Maharashtra said.
At least in future, the Centre should shun arrogance before bringing such laws, and take the opposition parties into confidence for the welfare of the country, the Sena said as it urged people to stand united against injustice and authoritarianism.
On Friday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the president of the Shiv Sena, had said, "The announcement of repealing the three farm laws underscores the power of a common man in the country. The Union government should hold talks and take other parties into confidence to avoid the afterthoughts and embarrassments like today."
Many farmers were encamped at Delhi's borders since November 2020 with a demand that the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law enacted to guarantee the minimum support price (MSP) on crops.
The Centre, which held several rounds of talks with the protesting farmers, had maintained that the laws were pro-farmer, while the protesters claimed that they would be left at the mercy of corporations because of the legislations.
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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.
