NDA will not get enough seats to form government at Centre, says CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (Karnataka), Apr 12: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that while the INDIA bloc may not get an absolute majority in the elections, the NDA won’t get enough seats either to form the government at the Centre.
Speaking about the Lok Sabha election prospects of the Congress in the state, the senior party leader expressed confidence that his party would win 15-20 seats in Karnataka.
Speaking to PTI Videos in an exclusive interview, Siddaramaiah commented not only about the elections but spoke about his own position in the state government.
Addressing speculation on whether he would have to give up the chief minister's chair to his deputy D K Shivakumar after two-and-a-half years of the Congress government being in power in Karnataka, he said it would depend on what the party high command decides.
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“It all depends on the decision of the high command. If the high command decides that I should continue, I will continue. Otherwise, I will go by the decision of the high command,” Siddaramaiah said.
He also reiterated that he will not stay in electoral politics after four years but will remain active in politics.
Ever since the government came to power in May last year, there has been talk of a change of guard after two-and-a-half years of the current dispensation, whereby Siddaramaiah would have to make way for Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress chief Shivakumar to head the government.
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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.
