UP BJP after leader ‘felicitates’ Bulandshahr cop murder accused; says "nothing to do with party"
The story was first published on www.theprint.in and is posted here without any changes or alterations. Click here to read the original post.
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh BJP has begun distancing itself from the decision to appoint Shikhar Aggarwal — the main accused in the murder of Inspector Subodh Singh — as the district general secretary of the Prime Minister’s Welfare Schemes Awareness Campaign.
Aggarwal is among 33 men accused of being behind the mob violence at Sayana area of Bulandshahr, which was sparked by the discovery of a dead calf, in 2018.
A police team was attempting to pacify angry villagers when a mob attacked it. Police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was shot and killed in the ensuing violence and his attackers even attempted to burn his body in his own official vehicle.
Out on bail, Aggarwal was recently handed over the certificate for the post by BJP’s Bulandshahr district president Anil Sisodia himself.
Sisodia has promptly distanced himself from the event ever since photos related to the event became viral on social media. Aggarwal has also been removed from the post.
Sisodia issued a statement Saturday claiming that the event was organized by a private institution and that he attended it as an “invited guest”.
According to Sisodia, he had “absolutely no information about Shikhar Aggarwal”.
“As chief guest, I distributed certificates to a number of people and Shikhar happened to be one of them,” his statement reads.
The BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit also maintained that the Prime Minister’s Welfare Schemes Awareness Campaign is run by a private organization that has nothing to do with the party.
“Any private organization might be organizing programs to promote the Prime Minister’s schemes,” state BJP spokesperson Naveen Srivastava said. “The real identity of such an institution is the subject of investigation. But it has nothing to do with the BJP.”
“The district president will definitely be questioned by the party as to why he handed over such a certificate to a person accused in the riots,” Srivastava told ThePrint. “The BJP is not in favor of glorifying or honoring any controversial person.”
He added that the party’s top leadership will be informed about the incident.
The organization behind the event is also now claiming that it has nothing to do with the BJP.
The Prime Minister’s Welfare Scheme Awareness Campaign’s Western UP President, Dr. Yatendra Sen, insisted that it is a private committee that aims to promote the Modi government’s welfare schemes among the common public.
According to Yatendra, the committee will now launch a detailed probe to determine how Aggarwal’s name was included among those who received the certificate.
“The institution is certainly not in favour of giving certificates to any such accused,” Sen said.
Opposition up in arms
The opposition are now ramping up pressure on the BJP, saying such events are an indication of why the law and order situation is deteriorating in UP.
State Congress’s spokesperson Anshu Awasthi said an honest police officer in Bulandshahr saved Uttar Pradesh from being burnt and sacrificed his life in order to save it.
“Now BJP leaders are handing over certificates to Shikhar Aggarwal who was the main accused in murdering the police inspector. This clearly illustrates why crime is increasing in Uttar Pradesh and why there is jungle raj in the state,” he said. “When the BJP itself provides protection to such criminals, then this kind of outcome is natural. The true character of the Bharatiya Janata Party has now been exposed to the people of Uttar Pradesh.”
Aam Aadmi Party’s MP and its UP in-charge Sanjay Singh also tweeted slamming the BJP government.
“Why is the Yogi government and the BJP rubbing salt on the pain of martyr Subodh Singh’s family? Which officer of the UP Police will embrace martyrdom for the sake of duty?” he tweeted.
This, however, isn’t the first controversy surrounding those accused of the inspector’s murder. In August 2019, when seven of 33 accused, including Aggarwal, were granted bail, they were welcomed with flowers and garlands.
The story was first published on www.theprint.in and is posted here without any changes or alterations. Click here to read the original post.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
