Suspended MPs could not be forgiven unless they apologise: Union minister Piyush Goyal
New Delhi, Nov 30: Amid vehement protest by opposition members, the BJP on Tuesday stoutly defended the suspension of 12 opposition members from the Rajya Sabha for their "unruly" conduct in the last Parliament session, saying this is the least that could have been done.
Union minister Piyush Goyal, the leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, also hit out at Rahul Gandhi, who rejected the demand that these members should apologise, asking if the Congress leader endorses their actions like "attacking" women marshals in the House.
Does not he think they should apologise or does he endorse their action, Goyal asked while speaking to reporters in Parliament House.
In a tweet, Gandhi had said these members will not apologise for "raising the voice of people" in Parliament.
Goyal cited various instances of the misconduct of these 12 members - from tearing papers to throwing books towards the Chair to allegedly attacking women marshals, saying their action could not be forgiven unless they tender an apology.
They not only insulted the House but the Chairman as well, he said.
The BJP leader said Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, had levelled baseless allegations against Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu in his remarks in the House against the suspension.
As many as 12 opposition MPs were suspended from the Rajya Sabha on Monday for the entire Winter session of Parliament for their "unruly" conduct in the previous session in August, even as the Opposition termed the suspension as "undemocratic and in violation of all the Rules of Procedure" of the Upper House.
The suspended MPs are six from the Congress, two each from Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena, and one each from the CPI and CPM.
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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.
