Shiv Sena backs Bhagwat's 'no need to find Shiv Ling in every mosque' comment
Mumbai, Jun 3: The Shiv Sena on Friday supported RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's comment that there was no need to find a 'Shiv Ling' in every mosque and start a new dispute every day, and added that the focus should be instead on how to save the lives of Kashmiri Pandits.
In a searing attack on the BJP-led Union government, Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut also said that in view of Kashmiri Pandits once again fleeing from the Valley, "Kashmir Files 2" should be made to show who is responsible for their current plight.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had supported the film "The Kashmir Files" which helped its producer earn Rs 400-500 crore, but the situation of Kashmiri Pandits did not change, he said.
I support his (Bhagwat's) statement. This daily chaos should end or else it will hurt the country. Instead of looking for a Shiv Ling, we should think of how we can save the lives of Kashmiris....how the lives of Kashmiri Pandits can be saved, he said.
On Thursday, Bhagwat had said the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute in Varanasi involved some issues of faith and the court's decision on it should be accepted by all, but also there was no need to find a `Shiv Ling' in every mosque and start a new dispute every day.
Raut, meanwhile, dubbed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir as really serious , noting that Union Home minister Amit Shah held an emergency meeting with Lt Governor Manoj Sinha over the developments.
The government is making efforts, but the situation is returning to what it was in 1990 when Kashmiri Pandits fled the Valley en masse, the Shiv Sena MP said.
Vijay Kumar, a 29-year-old bank manager from Rajasthan, was shot dead by a terrorist of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba organization inside his office in South Kashmir's Kulgam district on Thursday, making it the eighth targeted killing in the Kashmir Valley since May 1 and the third of a non-Muslim government employee.
The BJP got votes by promising resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, but despite the scrapping of the Article 370, there was no change in the situation on the ground, Raut claimed.
Kashmiri Pandits were being targeted and killed and the government is not taking any steps to provide security, he alleged.
Had there been a government of any other party, the BJP would have made it a big issue, Raut said.
But the Prime minister, the Home minister and the administration in Kashmir belong to you (the BJP) but still Kashmiri Pandits are being killed, he said.
Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote to Shah, demanding that security should be provided to Hindus and migrants in the Kashmir Valley.
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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.
