TMC leader Sayani Ghosh detained for questioning in Tripura; party alleges attack on workers by BJP
Agartala(PTI): Tripura police on Sunday detained West Bengal Trinamool Congress leader Sayani Ghosh for questioning following a complaint by a ruling BJP worker that she had disturbed a street corner meeting of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday night, according to an official.
Ghosh, the youth unit secretary of TMC West Bengal, was detained a day before a planned visit by the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee after being called in for questioning in a police station.
A police official, who did not want to be named, said a BJP worker lodged a complaint that when a street corner gathering was being addressed by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday night, Ghosh reached there and shouted "Khela hobey (game will happen) and claimed that there were not even 50 people in the gathering.
"Khela hobey" is a slogan used by the TMC during the assembly election in West Bengal held in March-April this year.
TMC leaders alleged that their workers were also roughed up by BJP supporters outside the East Agartala Women's police station, a charge denied by the saffron party.
Abhishek Banerjee in a tweet accused the BJP government in the North-eastern state of disregarding Supreme Court orders on the rights of political parties to hold peaceful programmes.
"@BjpBiplab has become so UNABASHEDLY BRAZEN that now even SUPREME COURT ORDERS DOESN'T SEEM TO BOTHER HIM.
"He has repeatedly sent goons to attack our supporters & our female candidates instead of ensuring their safety! DEMOCRACY BEING MOCKED under @BJP4Tripura," Banerjee said in the Twitter post, attaching a video of the alleged attack of Sunday morning.
The Supreme Court recently directed Tripura police to ensure that no political party is prevented from exercising their rights in accordance with the law for campaigning in a peaceful manner.
Police said some unidentified miscreants attacked a group of people who gathered near the police station during the questioning of Ghosh, but no one was injured.
The TMC is contesting the Tripura civic polls to be held on November 25. The ruling BJP has already won 112 out of 334 seats uncontested across 20 urban local bodies including Agartala Municipal Corporation. This will be the first civic election that the BJP will face after coming to power in 2018.
The Mamata Banerjee-led party is trying to gain a foothold in the state ahead of the 2023 assembly elections.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Deb claimed that BJP sheltered goons attacked the leaders and workers of the party on the premises of the police station after Ghosh reached there.
Our candidates were beaten up; their houses vandalized and though complaints were filed, no action was taken. Police here are acting in a one-sided manner, she told reports.
TMC West Bengal secretary Kunal Ghosh said if this is what is democracy in Tripura, "we would recommend to our leaders to do the same thing (to the BJP) in West Bengal .
Tripura BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya denied the allegation, saying the saffron party workers did not ever attack anyone of the TMC as the party does not consider it as a political opponent to reckon with.
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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.
