Congress in K'taka depends on Yediyurappa's move to act accordingly, says HD Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, Jun 30: Former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday said Congress leaders depend on BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa's future course of action.
The Congress leaders in Karnataka are waiting for Yediyurappa's move to act accordingly. The Congress leaders are watching former Chief Minister Yediyurappa's activities and the subsequent developments taking place in the BJP, Kumaraswamy, the JD(S) second-in-command, told reporters during an event in the party head office.
He refused to comment on the Congress party's claim of winning 130 seats in the general Assembly election next year.
I will not comment on their internal survey but we will certainly achieve our target, Kumaraswamy said.
The JD(S) leader blamed the BJP and the Congress for joining hands with big survey companies and issuing flawed survey reports. However, the media reports show the status of the national parties, he added.
Lashing out at the Congress, he said the party has demonstrated during the Rajya Sabha election, who is the B-Team of the BJP.
To a query on former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's claim that some JD(S) MLAs were in touch with him, Kumaraswamy said some people might be in touch with him (Siddaramaiah) but there is squabbling in Congress, which would come out in a month.
What's the point in going to a sinking ship? The Congress is sinking across India, the JD(S) leader said.
Kumaraswamy said the party is addressing the challenges in achieving its target of winning 123 seats in the next Assembly election.
Regarding the Karnataka High Court's observation that the State Anti-Corruption Bureau itself has become a collection centre', the JD(S) leader said there cannot be more shameful when the High Court observes that the head of ACB himself is corrupt.
There is no point in carrying out raids. Numerous raids had been carried out but tell me in how many officers faced action. Cash, gold, investment documents of the officers involved in corruption are shown but is there a single instance of taking action against them? asked Kumaraswamy.
He charged that Rs five crore worth of property was found during a raid at an IAS officer's house when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister but no action was taken against him.
The JD(S) leader said his party would launch Janata Mitra' (people's friend) campaign from Friday for 17 days in Bengaluru.
In these 17 days, the party would cover the 28 Assembly constituencies in the city, Kumaraswamy said adding that 15 LED vehicles have been hired to tell the people of the city about the mission and objectives of the JD(S).
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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.
