Congress holds 'Nava Sankalpa Shibira' in poll-bound Karnataka
Bengaluru, June 2: With the participation of over 500 leaders, Karnataka Congress' 'Nava Sankalpa Shibira' kick-started at a resort on the outskirts of the city on Thursday to discuss the way forward and the party's strategy, ahead of assembly polls next year.
The two-day brainstorming session, being held on the lines of party's recent Udaipur 'Chintan Shivir', saw top leaders urging its office bearers and workers to abide by the party discipline and work unitedly, with an aim to bring the Congress back to power in the state, by achieving the target of winning over 150 seats.
AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, state Congress President D K Shivakumar, Congress Legislature Party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with top party leaders from the state are participating in the Shibira.
"First we need to bring the party to power, 150 plus seats target needs to be achieved, only then we will be able to empower each one of you and through you to the people of Karnataka," Surjewala said at the inaugural.
Noting that the party gets weakened if there are divisions, he said, if there is an impression that leaders at the top are fighting among themselves, then the message of division will undermine other things.
"It is the unity of the party, leadership and its cadre that will ultimately help you win the election," he said and added that disappointments are fine, it can be addressed, but it should not become dissensions, as it is harmful to the party.
Surjewala's statement gains significance amid growing voices of factionalism in the party and alleged one-upmanship between Siddarmaiah and Shivakumar, who are nursing Chief Ministerial ambitions, and their supporters, who want to assert their respective leaders' hold on the party.
Congress is a democratic party and everybody should be permitted to speak, and others' opinion must be respected, he further said, but when the "Lakshman Rekha" of discipline is crossed, then it harms the party.
"This quest to go out and give gyan to the party through the media has to stop. We have 13-14 months for elections, you are not realising that by getting four minutes of fame in the media, you are undermining your own character, position and compromising the position of the party..." he said.
The AICC General Secretary also expressed confidence that the deliberations at the meet will pave the way for Congress' victory in Karnataka in the times to come.
He also said that a state level war room will be set up to coordinate up to assembly election next year and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, making it a standing feature at the PCC.
The state President has set up six committees - economic affairs and price rise, social justice and empowerment, organisation, farmers and agriculture, youth-women-education and employment and political affairs and AICC programmes implementation - to deliberate at the meet.
KPCC chief Shivakumar said, "Individual is not important here, party is important, keeping it in mind, also the 2023 assembly polls and 2024 parliamentary polls, our aim should be to bring this party to power. Along with that we have to also keep in mind the Congress' ideology."
Assembly constituency, district, region and state specific manifestos will be prepared assuring to provide a pro development government, a government with a good governance, he said.
Shivakumar also asked delegates not to go to the media regarding deliberations at the meet, and warned of action in case of any violations.
The Shibira will also discuss implementing the Udaipur declaration, which proposes reforms that include "one family one ticket", 50 per cent reservation to those below 50 years of age at all levels of the organisation, "one person one post", among others.
Stressing on the need to strengthen the party from booth level to win the elections whether it is Assembly or Lok Sabha or BBMP of Zilla and Taluk Panchayat, Siddaramaiah said, "We will have to win the assembly elections that will come in April-May 2023, it is the challenge before us."
"Congress doesn't want to win just to come to power, but it is required for this state and its people to survive, BJP should be unseated from power," he said.
Accusing the BJP governments in the state and the Centre of 'destroying' the economy, Leader of Opposition in state Assembly alleged that to cover it up, they have brought in religious and emotive issues.
According to sources, the KPCC President has instructed delegates attending the meet to keep their phones away during the sessions.
ನವ ಸಂಕಲ್ಪ ಶಿಬಿರವು ವಿಚಾರಗಳ ವಿನಿಮಯಕ್ಕೆ ಉತ್ತಮ ವೇದಿಕೆ ಒದಗಿಸಿದೆ. ನವ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಉದಯಕ್ಕೆ ಈ ಶಿಬಿರವು ಅಡಿಗಲ್ಲು ಹಾಕಿದೆ. ಜೊತೆಯಾಗಿ ಮುನ್ನಡೆದು ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಏಳ್ಗೆಗೆ ಒಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ದುಡಿಯೋಣ. #NavaSankalpaShibira pic.twitter.com/gTv8q1XgOm
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) June 2, 2022
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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.
