Never seen a PM who speaks 'lies': Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah targets Modi
Sangli, Jun 25: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday hit out at the Narendra Modi-led central government and claimed that in his 40 years of political career he has never seen a prime minister who speaks "lies".
Addressing a rally in Kannada in Sangli district of Maharashtra, where the state Congress felicitated him for the party's win in the recent Karnataka Assembly polls, the CM accused the BJP of indulging in corruption in his state.
He said it was the responsibility of every Congress worker to defeat the Narendra Modi government and save the Constitution and democracy.
"Never in my 40-year political life have I seen a prime minister who speaks lies. In 2014, he (Modi) spoke of depositing Rs 15 lakh into the bank accounts of people, two crore jobs and bringing acche din (good days). Did anything of this sort happen?' the Congress leader asked targeting Modi.
Siddaramaiah said he and his deputy D K Shivakumar, who is the Karnataka Congress president, visited every nook and corner of their state to explain to the people about the previous state BJP government's "corruption" where "40 per cent commission" was allegedly taken (for various works).
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"BJP means corruption and corruption means BJP, " he alleged.
The CM claimed the BJP had won in Karnataka (previously) not by people's mandate, but "operation Kamala" which meant luring MLAs with money.
'I am sure the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government (in Maharashtra) is also corrupt and it is the job of the all Congress workers to defeat them," he said.
The Assembly elections in Maharashtra are due next year.
"All of us have to wage another freedom struggle to save the country, Constitution and democracy. It is because of Ambedkar that I am the chief minister," he said.
He further accused the BJP of dividing people on the basis of religion, region, caste and language.
Siddharamaiah also accused the Centre of asking the Food Corporation of India (FCI) not to provide rice to his government for a scheme, which is one of the five guarantees, that was supposed to start immediately after the Congress came to power in Karnataka.
'In the first cabinet meeting, we decided to implement the five guarantees we gave in our manifesto, one of which is providing 10 kg rice free to the poor people. The central government's move is to ensure we don't work on this," he alleged.
"The BJP can stoop to this level for politics. We were to purchase rice from the FCI and not take it for free. We want to provide the rice, purchased at a given price, free of cost to the poor,' he said while terming the BJP as "worthless".
Siddaramaiah said before the Karnataka Assembly polls, PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah camped in the state for several days to defeat the Congress. But the people defeated them, he said.
The BJP lost in constituencies where the PM campaigned. This means Modi's popularity in waning, he claimed.
The Karnataka CM further claimed that late RSS leader MS Golwalkar and Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar had opposed the Constitution.
The Congress will never allow the Constitution to be changed and all party workers should be prepared for any sacrifice to protect it, he said.
"Social equality and social justice have been enshrined in the Constitution and democracy is thriving in the country," he added.
In the rally, banners in Kannada language were put up with messages demanding water from Karnataka's Tubachi Babaleshwar irrigation project and 10 per cent quota to Marathi people in the boundary areas.
Maharashtra Congress MLA Vishwajit Kadam, who welcomed Siddaramaiah, demanded that the Karnataka government look into the water issues of Jat taluka in Sangli, which borders the southern state, and to also ensure that Marathi-speaking people of Belgaum do not feel discriminated.
The Karnataka CM also said he would look into the water issues in Jat taluka of Sangli and ensure the people get water.
The border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka dates back to the 1960s after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines.
Maharashtra has laid claim to Belgaum, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency as it has a sizable Marathi-speaking population. It has also laid claim to a number of Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of Karnataka.
On the occasion, senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat expressed confidence that just like Karnataka, Maharashtra will also have a Congress government (after the next Assembly polls).
He also demanded that the Karnataka government consider Marathi-speaking people their own, even as the Supreme Court verdict on the boundary dispute was pending.
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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.
