Basavaraj Horatti resigns as Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council and MLC, to join BJP
Bengaluru, May 16: As he is all set to join the ruling BJP, senior politician Basavaraj Horatti on Monday resigned as the Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council, and also as an MLC.
Thanking the leadership of his former party JD(S) -- H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy -- for the opportunity, Horatti said they still consider him as their family member.
"I have resigned today as the Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council along with that also as MLC...I will be joining the BJP tomorrow, most probably at the party office in Bengaluru," Horatti told reporters here.
"Sometimes sudden changes happen. As some in my constituency and well-wishers were putting pressure on me insisting that I change, I had to accept it... I first got elected as an independent and thereafter got associated with the then Janata Dal and its breakaway JD(S). In 42 years of my political life, this is my first change," he added.
Horatti had earlier this month met Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the latter's visit to Bengaluru. He is likely to be fielded as the party's candidate for the upcoming MLC polls from West Teachers' constituency.
With this, Horatti, who has been elected as MLC seven successive times from 1980, has ended his long association with the JD(S).
Stating that he has not changed the party for the sake of power, in response to a question, the veteran politician said he never aspired for power and has effectively worked as minister and council chairman in the past.
Horatti said he has no misunderstanding with Deve Gowda or Kumaraswamy and has affection towards them. "I in fact spoke to Kumaraswamy, before making this decision..."
The senior politician also maintained that he is joining the BJP without any preconditions and none of his family members are interested in joining politics as of today.
Considered to be among the senior-most MLCs, the 76-year-old was seen as a prominent Lingayat face of the JD(S) from north Karnataka.
He had been education minister in the state, and was elected as the Chairman of the Legislative Council in February 2021.
Horatti has addressed his resignation letter to the Deputy Chairman, the position which is lying vacant for some time now.
"I have resigned, the cabinet will decide on the appointment of a pro-term Chairman (as Chairman and Deputy Chairman posts are vacant), and send it to the Governor for approval....the post will not be kept vacant, they will do it immediately," he said.
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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.
