Karnataka govt committed towards providing internal reservation among SCs: CM Siddaramaiah
Davangere (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said his government was committed towards providing internal reservation among Scheduled Castes (SC).
Amid speculation over a change of guard in the ruling Congress in Karnataka, he said, any decisions regarding the state Congress president or the chief minister will be taken by the party high command, and that he will decide on filling a vacant post in his cabinet in consultation with the leadership.
"The Supreme Court has said that internal reservation has to be given, but as some have said that there is no empirical data, a commission has been formed headed by (Justice) Nagmohan Das. We are committed to providing internal reservation," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question by reporters here.
The government in November had appointed retired High Court judge Justice H N Nagmohan Das to head a commission to recommend internal reservation among SCs.
A section of SCs, especially 'SC Left', have been demanding internal reservation alleging that only a few influential sub-castes were taking away a majority of the benefits while many communities were still marginalised.
In a landmark verdict delivered by the Supreme Court on August 1, 2024, it held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within the SCs, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward.
To a question about changing Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, Siddaramaiah said, "It will be decided by the high command, not us. KPCC president, chief minister -- everything is decided by the high command."
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who has completed four years as president of the KPCC, is currently on an extension in the post.
On filling a vacant berth in the cabinet following the resignation of Minister B Nagendra following allegations against him in the alleged Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam, the CM said, "...I will discuss with the high command and fill that vacancy."
Regarding the Taluk and Zilla Panchayat polls, Siddaramaiah said, the matter is before the court, it has to be decided there, and the government is ready tp conduct the polls.
To a question about him attending a dinner with select Dalit Cabinet colleagues on Thursday night that had created buzz amid speculation over leadership change, the CM said, "Is the meeting over food wrong? Won't you meet over food? Either we eat veg or non veg during food...when politicians meet over food it is painted differently, while it is not the case for others. We made it clear that we had met over food. There were no political discussions there."
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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.
