Congress to fight 2023 K'taka polls under collective leadership, says ex-deputy CM G Parameshwara
Bengaluru, Jun 25: Senior Karnataka Congress leader G Parameshwara on Saturday said the party will face the state assembly polls scheduled for next year under a collective leadership.
Ruling out speculation that he was sulking over being sidelined in the party and planning to join the BJP, the former deputy chief minister in reply to a question on his chief ministerial aspirations, maintained that the party high command will decide in this regard, when Congress comes to power in the state.
"Our (state) president D K Shivakumar has said it will be collective leadership...we will go (for polls) under collective leadership," Parameshwara told reporters in response to a question whether Congress will face the 2023 assembly polls under Siddaramaiah (Congress Legislature Party leader) or Shivakumar's leadership.
To a question whether he was upset over not being given an appropriate position in the party, Parameshwara said, "No, I'm not upset. I have worked as the party president successively for eight years and also as Deputy Chief Minister in the (coalition) government, I'm not unhappy or upset."
Asked about talks in the political circles that he may join the BJP, the former KPCC chief merely said, "I don't know about it."
The message of collective leadership from a senior party leader comes amidst ongoing political one-upmanship between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, both nursing Chief Ministerial ambitions on Congress coming to power.
Asked about him raising in the past the issue of Karnataka not having a Dalit CM, Parameshwara, who hails from the community, said, according to the situation several people express their opinion, and as of now the only intention is to bring the party to power.
"The party has to come to power first, right? We are making efforts for it," he added.
Stating that there is nothing to be surprised about several leaders in the Congress being in the race for the Chief Minister's post, Parameshwara said there are several senior leaders who have served the party for decades and it is natural for them to have a desire.
When questioned whether he too has such a desire, the Congress leader said the party high command will ultimately decide on it (CM) and added "let's bring the party to power first."
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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.
