BJP high command summons Yediyurappa to Delhi amid delay in electing LoP, K'taka party chief
Bengaluru (PTI): Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Sunday left for New Delhi after being summoned by the party's top leadership amidst a delay in electing the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
Though the BJP stalwart, who is the BJP parliamentary board member, expressed ignorance over the reason for the call, party sources said he has been summoned to decide on the candidates for the posts of leader of the opposition as well as the party's state chief.
"BJP National president J P Nadda has summoned me to New Delhi. I don't know what the subject is," Yediyurappa told reporters here.
He said, "I will go there, talk to him and if possible, I will return by tonight because a massive protest by thousands has been planned for day-after-tomorrow. So I will try to return by tonight or tomorrow morning."
Asked whether he has been called to New Delhi to discuss the appointment of LoP, Yediyurappa said he was not aware.
"... After talking to him, I will get to know what is running in his mind. I don't have any clue why he has summoned me," the former CM said.
To a query about the lobbying in the party for the two top posts, Yediyurappa said only the national leaders would take a call on such matters.
"Many people demand many things... Our national leaders will decide. Since he (Nadda) has called me, I will go there and talk to him," he added.
Regarding the BJP's agitation on Tuesday, Yediyurappa said a massive protest will be organised against the ruling Congress for its "failure" to fulfill its election promises.
"It has been decided to protest the failure of the state government. Thousands of people will participate. I will also take part in it," he added.
With just one day left for the budget session of the assembly to start, the BJP is yet to finalise its leader of opposition.
There is a stiff contest in the saffron party in the state for these two prime posts. There are many frontrunners for the role of opposition leader, sources in the BJP said.
Among them are former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former ministers Araga Jnanendra, R Ashoka and Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal.
Recently, former Minister V Somanna had expressed his desire to become the BJP state president.
The incumbent Nalin Kumar Kateel said although his term got over a year ago he was continuing in the post due to the assembly elections.
Now, the decision on his replacement would be made by the party high command, he said.
According to party sources, the BJP legislative party meeting to elect their leader, which was scheduled for today has been cancelled.
"Today there is no meeting of the BJP legislative party. We expect that the leader of opposition will be decided by tomorrow (Monday) afternoon," a senior BJP leader told PTI.
Meanwhile, the Congress mocked the BJP's indecisiveness to finalise the leader of opposition.
In a tweet on Saturday, the party posted a picture of a chair with a caption which read, "Advertisement -- Urgently needed. A suitable person for the vacant post of leader of opposition of Karnataka assembly is required."
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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.
