No BJP or Modi wave in country, says Congress leader DK Shivakumar
Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 16: Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said that there was no BJP or Modi wave in the country and asserted that the INDIA bloc will form government at the Centre.
Shivakumar, also the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, was in the southern state to campaign for party candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
He said that there was no wave in favour of the BJP or the prime minister and it was evident from the fact that the saffron party was not fielding around 100 of its sitting MPs across India in the coming polls.
Shivakumar also took potshots at the BJP's candidate from Thiruvananthapuram LS constituency, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, by questioning what contribution he had made to Kerala's development.
The Karnataka Deputy CM also said that Chandrasekhar was morally obligated to resign as a minister before contesting in the elections.
Chandrasekhar is Union Minister of State for Information Technology and Electronics.
Shivakumar expressed confidence that Shashi Tharoor, the sitting MP from Thiruvananthapuram, would win again from there.
The Karnataka Congress chief took part in the roadshows of Tharoor and KPCC chief K Sudhakaran in Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur, respectively.
The Lok Sabha elections will be held in Kerala on April 26 and the results will be declared on June 4.
ദൈവത്തിന്റെ സ്വന്തം നാടായ കേരളത്തിന് എന്റെ ഹൃദയ പൂർവമായ നമസ്കാരം 🙏
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) April 16, 2024
Humbled by the outpouring of love and support given by the people of Trivandrum constituency during a road show for Congress Party candidate and Senior Leader Shri. @ShashiTharoor
Some memorable snippets from… pic.twitter.com/H31JH2sj3b
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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.
