DK Shivakumar swears-in as new KPCC President
Bengaluru: D K Shivakumar on Thursday officially took charge as president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee after over three months since he was appointed to the post.
Called "Pratijna Dina", the function to mark the official take-over of Shivakumar as president, along with Eshwar Khandre, Salim Ahmed and Satish Jarkiholi as working presidents of KPCC, is said to have been digitally witnessed by lakhs of people from over 15,000 places.
Following the restrictions in place to control the spread of coronavirus, the ceremony was organised at the party's new office building.
Aimed at mobilising the party leaders and cadre, arrangements were made at panchayat and ward-level across the state to see to that they are part of the function through live telecast on TV channels, Zoom, YouTube and social media.
The official take-over saw immediate past president Dinesh Gundu Rao handing over the Congress flag to Shivakumar, and this was followed by party workers across locations, who were digitally watching the function, taking oath and reading the preamble of the Constitution.
The ceremony was held on Thursday after it was postponed thrice due to COVID-19 related restrictions in place.
The Congress high command had on March 11 appointed Shivakumar, a six-time MLA, known to be the Congress's chief troubleshooter in crisis situations, replacing Dinesh Gundu Rao as the KPCC chief.
Rao had quit the post in December after the party's dismal show of winning only two of the 15 seats in the bypolls.
A written message by AICC president Sonia Gandhi was read out by party general secretary K C Venugopal in which she appreciated the judicious use of technology to mobilise the workers and leaders.
Former Congress national president Rahul Gandhi telephoned Shivakumar and asked him to work for the party's success by taking everyone together.
Venugopal, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah, senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, former state Congress presidents, former and present party legislators and MPs, Congress leaders from neighbouring states were among others who attended the function here, virtually.
Addressing the partymen, Shivakumar, vowing to convert Congress in Karnataka as a cadre-based party, said he was just a party worker and believes in collective leadership.
"Joining together is the beginning, thinking together is progress, working together is success," he said, while remembering that he was being written off during his arrest in a money laundering case, but Sonia Gandhi picked him for the post and even came to prison and spent time with him.
Stating that Congress should come to power again on its own in the state, Shivakumar spoke about implementing the Kerala model.
"Theres the Kerala model. All big leaders there must represent their booth. We have to follow the Kerala model...," he said.
He continues to have a tough task ahead in taking together the faction-ridden party. There were reports of Siddaramaiah being in favour of one of his confidantes to be made state president.
According to many party insiders, he is said to be the man behind the idea of three working presidents seen as a move loosen Shivakumar's grip on the party.
Several other leaders had also opposed Shivakumar's name, citing his recent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.
However, Shivakumar's loyalty, roles that he has played in the party's interest during troubled times, worked in his favour. Many feel his appointment would help in consolidating the party in southern parts of the state, where Vokkaligas are in large number.
Considered as Congress's man Friday, Shivakumar had hosted party legislators from Gujarat here in 2017 to ensure the victory of AICC leader Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha elections.
He was a key link in the Congress-JDS coalition and had made hectic attempts to prevent the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy-led government last year after a section of the then ruling MLAs revolted.
Speaking at the take-over function, Siddaramaiah said, "Our aim is to remove BJP and bring Congress to power once again to save the country."
He lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of lying and betraying the people. He hit out at the government for its handling of COVID crisis and economy.
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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.
