PM Modi to address public meeting in Shivamogga on Monday
Bengaluru (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday will address a public meeting at Shivamogga, the home turf of former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
This will be his second such meeting in Karnataka since the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates. The first was on Saturday at Kalaburagi, the home turf of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
BJP is expecting a huge turnout at the Allama Prabhu ground (Freedom Park) for the meet in the home district of Yediyurappa, who is a member of the party's all important Parliamentary board.
Yediyurappa's elder son B Y Raghavendra is the BJP candidate for the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency, where former deputy chief minister K S Eshwarappa has announced he will contest as an independent candidate as he is upset over the denial of ticket to his son K E Kantesh to contest from Haveri LS constituency.
Eshwarappa has even announced that he will skip Modi's public meeting. The disgruntled leader had earlier stated that the Prime Minister "resides in his heart".
BJP state chief B Y Vijayendra, who is Yediyurappa's second son and Shikaripura MLA, visited Allama Prabhu ground along with senior party functionaries to supervise the preparations and gave necessary directions to ensure that the meeting goes smoothly.
The saffron party is aiming to better its 2019 performance, where it won 25 of the 28 seats, in 2024 as well.
In 2019, Congress and JD(S) had won one seat each, while a BJP-backed independent Sumalatha Ambareesh had clinched one. Party leaders have expressed confidence that the BJP would win all 28 seats in Karnataka this time.
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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.
