2 'rebel' BJP MLAs in Karnataka send reply to party over violation of whip in RS polls
Bengaluru: BJP 'rebel' MLAs S T Somashekar and Arabail Shivaram Hebbar on Thursday said they have sent their reply running into 170 pages, quoting judgements by various courts across the country in such cases, to the notice issued by the party for violating the whip in the recent Rajya Sabha polls.
Hebbar, MLA from Yellapur, did not turn up for the voting, citing health grounds, while Yeshwanthpur MLA Somashekar voted in favour of Congress in the name of ''conscience'', during the polls to four seats of Rajya Sabha from Karnataka on February 27, in an embarrassment to the BJP.
Both of them today together met Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress chief D K Shivakumar, but maintained that it was regarding water issues in their respective assembly segments.
''BJP has served notice, we have replied to it, we are waiting for action. We have replied to whatever they had asked. They have issued a one page notice, We have given 170 page replies. We have quoted similar developments throughout India, also quoting court judgements,'' Somashekar said.
Speaking to reporters, he said, the stand BJP had taken in Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and other states have been mentioned in the reply.
''I have pointed out differences in stands taken by the party in Karnataka and other states in my reply,'' he said, adding that he has no disgruntlement with state-level BJP leaders.
Somashekar also expressed his displeasure regarding BJP's Bangalore North candidate and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje.
Noting that his assembly constituency comes under Bangalore North Lok Sabha segment, he said he had no differences with late D B Chandre Gowda and D V Sadanada Gowda who have been BJP MPs from the segment, ''but I myself have to fear to go to my constituency now, as I don't know when the now BJP candidate (Shobha Karadlaje), makes hate speeches or speaks against me.'' ''If things continue like this, a situation may arise for me to meet the police commissioner and seek protection,'' he added, asking ''whether she has come to become MP or to instigate things?''
Hebbar said he too has quoted various judgements of the courts in different parts of the country in his response, which may be a couple of pages less compared to Somashekar's reply. ''Notice issue is same for me and Somashekar, but the only difference is he cast the vote while I was absent.'' Asked whether he will work for BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, Hebbar said the candidate for his constituency (Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha) has not been declared by the party yet. ''Let's see, I will decide after it is announced.''
Somashekar and Hebbar were earlier in the Congress. They were among 17 Congress-JD(S) legislators, who had quit from their parties, which ultimately led to the collapse of the then H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government in July 2019.
They had subsequently won the bypolls on BJP ticket and served as Ministers in the previous saffron party government.
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.
