SC seeks AG's assistance on UIDAI move to to neutralise negative sentiments
New Delhi, Sep 7 : The Supreme Court on Friday sought assistance of Attorney General K.K. Venugopal in the hearing of a petition by a Trinmool Congress leader questioning the move by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to create a social media wing to identify "top detractors" and "neutralise negative sentiments" in relation to Aadhaar.
Directing the listing of the matter on September 11, the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar ande Justice D.Y. Chandrachud sought the assistance of Attorney General K.K.Venugopal. The court recalled that government had aborted the similar attempt earlier to create social media hub under the I&B Ministry.
Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for TMC lawmaker in he West Bengal asembly Mauha Moitra told the bench that it was a new move, prompting the bench to observe that what they could not do directly was sought to be done indirectly.
Last month the Centre abandoned its plan to set up a Social Media Communication Hub (SMCH) to track and monitor these platforms to identify "buzz creators" in all the districts across the country.
In the hearing of the earlier plea of Moitra on July 13, Justice Chandrachud had said, "If every tweet, WhatsApp (message) is monitored, we'll be moving towards a surveillance state."
"Despite the fact that the constitutional validity of the entire Aadhaar scheme is under challenge and its fate is to be decided by the top court, the respondents have issued the impugned RFP (request for proposal) to identify "top detractors" and "neutralise negative sentiments" the petitionA by Moitra said.
Moitra has claimed that the RFP has sought offers from those who had the capability to listen in and "identify problematic online conversations" and "neutralise negative sentiments".
"It is therefore clear that the respondents have no respect or regard for the proceedings before this court", the petition says that it amounts to infringement of the right to privacy of an individual.
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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.
