Bengaluru: KPCC President DK Shivakumar on Monday expressed his confidence that the senior party leader from Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot who had earlier declared an open revolt against the party, will not leave the party.

Shivakumar while addressing the media at the KPCC office in the city also added that the BJP Government had failed to contain the Coronavirus situation in the state and that had led to people leaving Bengaluru and heading towards their native villages.

He added that his party will not interfere in the government’s administration, but will lend all the support if the government invites them. He also added that his party was open for discussions with the government for better handling of the pandemic beyond the party lines.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar also alleged that although his party was ready to step beyond party lines and lend support to the government in the fight against the government, BJP on the other hand was playing petty politics over the pandemic.

Speaking further about Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot’s revolt against the party, Shivakumar said “He and his father worked for the party. We are confident that they will not leave the party. There may be a minor disagreement in the party. Our national leaders will address it. The agenda of the BJP is to topple the Congress government in various states. BJP is misleading Congress leaders and people in Rajasthan. People have given Congress a clear majority”.

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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.