Chamundi Hills open to all faiths, says Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday defended the decision to invite writer Banu Mushtaq for the inauguration of Mysuru Dasara, countering BJP’s objections.
Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said Chamundi Hills is a shrine open to people of all faiths. “People from every community visit Chamundi Hills and pray to the Goddess. We too visit mosques, dargahs, Jain basadis, churches, and gurdwaras. Has anyone ever stopped us from entering a gurdwara? Have we objected to people of other faiths entering Hindu temples? Anyone is free to go to any place of worship,” he said.
Questioning BJP’s stance, he remarked: “So many Hindus have converted to Islam or Christianity, and many from other faiths have embraced Hinduism. Don’t Muslims also follow Hindu traditions in certain practices? Why is there no board in Ayodhya saying only Hindus should come to Lord Rama? Why this selective objection now?”
Shivakumar further asked why, if BJP truly objected to minority representation, they did not abolish Haj Committees or the Minority Affairs department when they were in power. “All of this is politics,” he said, stressing that India is a secular nation where the Constitution guarantees rights and freedom to every citizen.
He added that even children of interfaith couples have the freedom to follow the religion of their choice, protected under the Constitution.
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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.
