B.K. Hariprasad slams PM Modi over approach towards China
Bengaluru: Senior Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of changing his stance towards China, saying that instead of showing the Chinese the “red eye”, he has rolled out the “red carpet”.
In a sharp post shared on social media platform X, Hariprasad questioned the Prime Minister for shaking hands with the Chinese President without remembering the sacrifice of the 20 Indian soldiers who were killed by Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. “Did the faces of those martyrs not come to your mind? Did the 56-inch chest not find the courage to demand justice for our soldiers’ deaths?” he asked.
He also pointed out that despite Arunachal Pradesh BJP MP Tapir Gao raising concerns in Parliament that China had built villages and roads deep inside Indian territory, up to 60-70 km within the border, Modi did not confront the Chinese leadership on the issue.
Hariprasad further reminded that former Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan had admitted in Parliament that China had occupied 38,000 square kilometres of Indian land. “Why didn’t you demand the Chinese President to vacate our territory?” he questioned.
Linking China’s role in supporting Pakistan with arms supplies that were later used in attacks like Pulwama and against innocent tourists in Pahalgam, the Congress leader asked what kind of brotherhood Modi expected with such a nation.
Criticising the government’s foreign policy, Hariprasad said what was once a model for the world has now been reduced to just foreign tours. According to him, this has damaged India’s global respect and forced the country to pay a heavy price. “A recent example is the heavy tariffs imposed on India by your friend, US President Trump,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Hariprasad alleged that Modi was fooling the people of the country and warned that “your masks are slowly coming off.”
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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.
