Congress will lose in Karnataka due to anti-RSS propaganda, says CM Bommai
Hubballi, Jun 5: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said the anti-RSS propaganda resulted in the Congress losing its grounds elsewhere and the same will happen in the state as well.
"Former chief minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress leaders were always against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), so they speak against the outfit but people are well aware of the RSS. Their (Congress') anti-RSS propaganda led to their losing grounds everywhere and the same will happen in Karnataka as well," Bommai told reporters.
The Chief Minister said the RSS has been promoting patriotism and doing public service for the past 75 years.
Stating that the RSS has done good work in different parts of the country, Bommai said the outfit always rushed to help people in trouble during calamities.
Targeting the RSS a week ago, senior Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah had questioned whether those who belonged to the outfit were "native Indians", "Dravidians" or "Aryans". The statement drew sharp criticism from the BJP leaders.
To a query on the possibility of cross-voting during the biennial elections to the four seats of Rajya Sabha, Bommai said, "Let us wait for June 10 (the election polling date)."
The BJP has fielded three candidates -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Kannada film actor-turned-politician Jaggesh and Lahar Singh Siroya.
While the BJP is sure to win two seats given its numbers in the Karnataka assembly, it is taking a chance to win the third seat for which the Congress and the JD(S) too have fielded their candidates. The tussle for the third seat has led to a speculation about cross-voting.
Regarding the controversy around the textbook review committee, Bommai charged that there is politics happening with regard to the textbook revision. State Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh will answer them, he added.
The Karnataka government dissolved the textbook revision committee headed by Rohith Chakrathirtha after its chairman was caught up in controversy.
The government also faced the ire of intellectuals who accused it of saffronising textbooks.
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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.
