'I have not joined BJP': Former Karnataka Chief Secretary Ratna Prabha says
Bengaluru : Retired IAS officer and former Karnataka Chief Secretary K Ratna Prabha has categorically denied joining the BJP in light of multiple reports suggesting she has joined the Opposition party in the state.
“I have not joined the BJP, I am not even in Bengaluru. This is all fake news. This has made my life miserable and I am getting calls all throughout the morning. Nobody has even approached me,” the ex-IAS officer told TNM.
She added that someone with a personal vendetta could have planted the news for the CM was planning to give her an assignment.
Reports published both in Kannada and English media suggest that the popular bureaucrat had been roped into the party, keeping in mind the Lok Sabha elections in May 2019. The reports even suggested she could be pitted against Congress heavyweight and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge.
Ratna Prabha had retired from the post of Chief Secretary at the end of June, after talks of her getting a second three-month extension did not materialise. She is very popular in the Hyderabad Karnataka region, having served many positions there, including as the first woman District Collector of Raichur in the northwestern part of the state during her 37-year-old career.
An IAS officer of 1981 batch, she was appointed as the third woman Chief Secretary in the state ahead of the elections by then CM Siddaramaiah in November 2017 and was due to retire in March.
Earlier, BS Yeddyurappa, the state BJP president had attacked the then CM for choosing Subhash Chandra Khuntia (who was then away on a central deputation) over Ratna Prabha in September, 2016, for the Chief Secretary post.
The reports of her joining the party came after former Congress minister Baburao Chinchansur joined the BJP. It was suggested that moves would help the BJP storm the Congress bastion.
A senior BJP functionary in the state claimed he came to know about the incident only after reports appeared in the media. “I also saw the report in the papers. But as far as I know there has been no such development. But only our state president has to say the final word on this,” he said.
courtesy : thenewsminute.com
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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.
