Are RSS members 'native Indians', 'Dravidians', or 'Aryans', asks Congress leader Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, May 27: Targeting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, senior Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Friday questioned whether those who belonged to the outfit were "native Indians", "Dravidians" or "Aryans".
The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly also blamed the lack of unity within Indian society for the invasion of Mughals and British and their rule for a long period.
Angered by comments against their ideological parent organisation, several BJP leaders have sharply reacted and have hit out at the former chief minister.
"Are these RSS people native Indians? Unnecessarily, we don't want to discuss it and so are quite...are Aryans from this country? Are they Dravidians? We will have to go to their origins," Siddaramaiah said, while speaking on a brewing controversy over a lesson regarding RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in school textbooks.
Speaking at the event commemorating former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's death anniversary here, he asked who was responsible for the Mughals to rule the country for 600 years.
"If you were all united, why would they (Mughals) have come (and invaded), who gave them the space? Who is responsible for the British to rule this country for 200 years? I don't want to go further on this," he added.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who shared the stage along with Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders, supported the former CM's comments and said, he too had said the same thing in the Parliament in the past.
"When there was some controversy and calls for actor Shah Rukh Khan and his family to leave the country...I had told (Defence Minister) Rajnath Singh that you guys have come from central Asia, you are descendants of Hitler, you leave..." he said.
Reacting to Siddaramaiah's comments, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said the Congress Legislature Party leader either doesn't know the facts or was playing a "drama" to please party leader Rahul Gandhi and appease Muslims.
Pointing out that Hedgewar was initially with the Congress and was head of its Seva Dal, he said, "Several Congress leaders have written about his contribution to the freedom struggle and support he gave to revolutionaries. We (the Congress and BJP) may have ideological differences, but Hedgewar was a true patriot and he founded RSS in India."
BJP national General Secretary C T Ravi said: "He (Siddaramaiah) often sees Bharat and Barateeyate (Indianness) with Macaulay's viewpoint, when the spirit enters..." he said.
Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh said, "My only answer is those in RSS are Indians and followers of its philosophy, and not Italians or with Italian leadership."
Senior BJP leader and MLA K H Eshwarappa said RSS members are those who do not follow a foreign leader, as he demanded that Siddaramaiah apologise to the people of the country for his comments.
"RSS is a patriotic organisation built by people who are sons of this soil, unlike Congress which is in the hands of (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi. Which country is she from?" he questioned.
Several other BJP leaders too have targeted Siddaramaiah.
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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.
