TMC's presence in Goa to help BJP in polls, claims Sanjay Raut
Mumbai, Jan 9: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday slammed the TMC for taking an "anti-Congress" stand ahead of the Goa Assembly polls, and claimed the presence of the Mamata-Banerjee led party in the coastal state will help the ruling BJP the most.
In his weekly column 'Rokhtok' in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Raut said the TMC has roped in "unreliable leaders" from other parties, including the Congress, and such an attitude does not suit West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is herself fighting the BJP.
The TMC is spending extravagantly in Goa for the Assembly polls and many say the source of funds spent by the party is "somewhere else", he claimed without elaborating.
Referring to the current state of affairs in Goa, Raut said all parties have made the state a "political laboratory".
The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced that elections to all 40 Assembly constituencies in Goa would be held on February 14.
The BJP, Congress, Goa Forward Party (GFP), Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress Party (TMC), and NCP are the main political parties in the fray.
"The TMC's presence in Goa will benefit BJP the most," Raut claimed.
Banerjee has roped in "unreliable leaders" from other parties. This action doesn't suit her image, the Rajya Sabha member said.
"It is understandable if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP's aim is to wipe out the Congress's existence. But, if Banerjee has the same aim, it doesn't suit her image," Raut said.
He noted that in the last Goa Assembly elections, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party with 17 seats and now, it has been reduced to just two seats.
The decline was because the Congress did not have a strong leadership in Goa, Raut opined.
Winning Goa is not easy for the ruling BJP, but parties like the AAP and the TMC have put obstacles in the Congress's path to help the BJP, he claimed.
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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.
