Union Minister Shantanu Thakur leaves West Bengal BJP's WhatsApp group
Kolkata, Jan 4: In an embarassment to BJP, Union Minister and prominent member of the Matua community, Shantanu Thakur has quit all WhatsApp groups of the party.
Confirming it, Thakur, the union minister of state for shipping Tuesday told reporters "It seems the state BJP leadership does not think we (Matuas) have an important role within the organisation.".
He also wondered if he has any importance in the BJP state unit any more.
Thakur, who refused to say anything else, did not take phone calls by PTI.
He is the Sanghadhipati, All India Matua Mahasangha, an influential Matua community body.
The Bongaon MP had a few days back voiced his reservation against the omission of some MLAs of the Matua community in the reconstitued BJP state and district committees. He had, however, said he will be loyal to the party.
Reacting to the development, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said "We will sort out any misunderstanding with Shantanu Thakur. He is very much a part of the BJP parivar."
When asked to comment, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy told reporters that the BJP had used Matua community for its own electoral gains.
"But it (BJP) was not concerned about their real development. It is clear now," he added.
Over a week ago five BJP MLAs -- Mukutmoni Adhikari, Subrata Thakur, Ambica Roy, Asok Kirtania and Asim Sarkar had expressed their displeasure over their omission from the state party committee and left the WhatsApp group of MLAs of the saffron party.
Adhikari he had said that the aspirations of the people of his constituency may not get fulfilled under the newly formed BJP state committee.
Subrata Thakur and Kirtania had refused to cite any reason for quitiing the WhatsApp group.
Roy had, however, expressed the wish to rejoin the BJP WhatsApp group on December 27, two days after quitting it and said he would sort out any difference with the party.
A politically significant and sizeable community, the Matuas are split into the BJP and TMC camps.
The community has considerable clout in at least four Lok Sabha seats and 30-40 assembly seats in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districts.
The scheduled caste Hindu community had migrated to West Bengal during partition and have significant presence in North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts among others.
The community was wooed by the ruling TMC in the state and BJP alike before the state election and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had even visited Orakandi, the ancestral village of the sect's founder Harichand Thakur during his March 2021 visit to Bangladesh.
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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.
