ED chargesheet: Political weapons against me ahead of Assembly polls, says D K Shivakumar
Bengaluru(PTI): With Enforcement Directorate (ED) filing a chargesheet under the anti-money laundering law against him and others, Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar on Thursday alleged that all "political weapons" are being used against him, ahead of 2023 assembly polls in the state.
He claimed that the chargesheet is "part of a plan to eliminate people, whom the ruling dispensation fear may create trouble for them politically or don't surrender to them", adding that he is ready to "face everything".
"I have got to know that some national channels are reporting that they (ED) have filed a chargesheet. They have submitted it to the court, we have not been given a copy yet. The court will give us the copy. Usually it has to be filed within 60 days from the day I was jailed, but they have filed it after 3-3.5 years after large scale investigation," Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said he has belief in the law of the land and will abide by it.
"Let the chargesheet come, they can't create any new things. However, the Income Tax department had created new things (against me earlier), going against the law and Supreme Court judgements," he added.
The federal probe agency in September 2018 registered a money laundering case against Shivakumar, A Haumanthaiah, an employee at the Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and other people.
The case was based on an Income Tax Department chargesheet filed against Shivakumar and others before a court in Bengaluru for alleged tax evasion and hawala dealings.
Further claiming that the "people of the country know that he has not done anything wrong" and that he had earlier stated that there were political motives behind the case, the KPCC chief recalled that during late Congress leader Ahmed Patel's election to Rajya Sabha his house was raided and money belonging to his friends were reported as his.
"Let them do anything. In politics, they don't leave their party (BJP) people, will they leave our party ones....things are going on," he said.
The I-T department had accused Shivakumar and his associate S K Sharma of transporting huge amount of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through 'hawala' channels with the help of three other accused.
Shivakumar, 60, was arrested by the ED in this case in 2019, and a number of people and associates, including his daughter Aisshwarya and Congress MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar, were questioned by the agency.
The Congress leader, a former cabinet minister of Karnataka, Shivakumar is currently out on bail in the money laundering case.
Alleging that all the political weapons are being used ahead of assembly polls next year, Shivakumar claimed BJP Ministers, MLAs and senior leaders had said "certain things and accordingly things are happening now".
"They (BJP leaders) have become courts, judges, police and investigation officers, let them do whatever they want," he said, when questioned whether he fears that he will be jailed once again.
Noting that within 60 days of being jailed an interim chargesheet has to be filed, Shivakumar said he got bail before that. There were attempts to cancel his bail, but the Supreme Court rejected it; now the charge sheet has been filed and he expects notice to be served soon, he added.
"Naturally we have to face it and we will face it. We are law abiding citizens. We know that law has been taken for a ride, misused, there is a lot of pressure, but still we will face it," he said.
Shivakumar averred that there exists a system under which the ruling dispensation "eliminates people, whom they fear may create trouble for them politically".
"Either you should go with them or surrender to them or else such people are eliminated, they are in that process now. I wish them all the best," he added.
Shivakumar's brother and Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh said based on the chargesheet and after going through it, they will fight it out legally.
Observing that they are yet to go through the chargesheet, in response to a question whether an attempt is on to jail Shivakumar ahead of assembly polls, he said, "We are ready for everything. Shivakumar has fought for the people of the state as a Congress soldier...we will abide by law and respond within the framework of law." There has been conspiracy after BJP coming to power against those who oppose it and this may be part of it, he added.
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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.
