Will give Rs 25,000 to Punjab CM for every illegal sand mining case he acts against: AAP
New Delhi, Dec 10: The AAP on Friday said it will give Rs 25,000 reward to Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for every illegal sand mining case he acts against, a day after he announced an equal cash award for reporting the crime to the authorities.
Addressing an online press conference, AAP spokesperson and co-in charge of the party's affairs in Punjab Raghav Chadha termed Channi's announcement "mere drama to fool people of the state".
Chadha also alleged that the Punjab chief minister has not taken any action against illegal sand mining going on in his own assembly constituency even after it was brought to his notice, claiming that Channi was hand in glove with the sand mafia.
Earlier on Thursday, Channi announced a cash award of Rs 25,000 if proof of illegal mining is brought to the notice of the authorities concerned. He asked deputy commissioners to declare the reward if a proof is provided in video or any other form about any violation of the norms in this regard.
At the press conference a day later, Chadha dared the chief minister to take action against the sand mafia. "Channi sahab should first file an FIR against himself," the AAP leader said.
"The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will pay a reward of Rs 25 000 each to Channi sahab for every sand mining case against which he takes action. Take action if it is your intent to tighten the noose around the mining mafia and check illegal mining," Chadha said.
Claiming that illegal sand mining is rampant in Punjab, the AAP leader said the chief minister could easily get information about the sites "within five minutes" from his officers if he really intended to take action.
"I dare you to come with me, I will take you to all the illegal sand mining sites and you take action," Chadha said.
He claimed that his party recently exposed illegal sand mining in Jindapur, which falls under the home assembly constituency of the Punjab chief minister, with proof but no action was taken.
"First, file an FIR against yourself Channi sahab. I gave you evidence of illegal sand mining at Jindapur Pind. It is your area. Take action," he said.
"It seems the chief minister has become the biggest sand mining mafia. It seems Channi saheb is hand in glove with the sand mafia," Chadha alleged.
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.
