Shed arrogance, repeal farm laws: Congress to PM Modi after bypoll results
New Delhi, Nov 2: The Congress on Tuesday cited bypoll results to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to shed arrogance, repeal the three farm laws and stop petrol and diesel "loot".
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the party's victory is that of its workers and asked them to keep fighting hate without fear.
"Every victory for the Congress is a victory of our party worker. Keep fighting hate. No fear!" Gandhi said on Twitter after the bypoll results came in.
Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told the prime minister that "disdain for people's pain is harmful".
"The BJP has lost two out of three Lok Sabha seats. In Assemblies, BJP has lost at most places in direct contest with Congress. Himachal Pradesh, Rajastan, Karnataka and Maharashtra have witnessed it," he said on Twitter.
"Modi ji, Shed arrogance. Repeal the three 'black laws'. Stop Petrol-Diesel-Gas loot. Disdain for people's pain is harmful," Surjewala also said.
After the Congress swept all the seats in Himachal Pradesh, party's in-charge for the state Rajeev Shukla said the result is very positive for them and claimed that people of the state are yearning for change.
"This result is very encouraging and I think public attitude is changing. This is a very significant result for us. The defeat of the BJP shows that the popularity of BJP among the people has fallen," he told reporters.
Senior Congress leader and former union minister Anand Sharma, who had campaigned in the bypolls, said the clean sweep and victories for Pratibha Singh and wins by Rohit Thakur, Sanjay Awasthi and Bhawani Singh Pathania despite the massive use of power, authority and resources are a "clear rejection of the anti-people policies of the BJP and betrayal of the mandate".
"The tide has turned, and the countdown has begun for the BJP," he said.
The Congress won the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and won all the three assembly bypolls of Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai in Himachal Pradesh.
Himachal Pradesh goes to polls late next year.
Congress candidate Nagraj Meena won the Dhariawad assembly seat in Rajasthan by a margin of 18,725 votes.
Surjewala also congratulated the Congress leaders in Karnataka for winning the Hangal assembly seat.
"The constant service of people by Srinivas Mane and the immeasurable hard work of Congress workers and leaders has proved that Karnataka yearns for 'change'," he said.
"The BJP's exit is written on the wall," Surjewala also claimed.
The Congress won the Raigaon (SC) assembly bypoll in Madhya Pradesh, with its candidate Kalpana Verma defeating her nearest rival, BJP's Pratima Bagri, by a margin of 12,290 votes.
The ruling Trinamool Congress made a clean sweep in West Bengal winning all the four seats where bye-elections were held.
BJP has lost 2 out of 3 Lok Sabha seats.
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) November 2, 2021
In Assemblies, BJP has lost at most places in direct contest with INC. HP, Raj., Karnataka & Maharashtra have witnessed it.
Modi ji,
Shed arrogance!
Repeal 3 Black Laws!
Stop Petrol-Diesel-Gas Loot!
Disdain for people’s pain is harmful.
कांग्रेस की हर जीत हमारी पार्टी के कार्यकर्ता की जीत है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 2, 2021
नफ़रत के ख़िलाफ़ लड़ते रहो। डरो मत!
Every victory for the Congress is a victory of our party worker.
Keep fighting hate. No fear! #BypollResults2021
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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.
