Power games in Rajasthan, Cong MLAs meet Gehlot to indicate support
Jaipur: Several ministers and MLAs visited Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's home Sunday, indicating support to him amid speculation over a widening rift with his deputy Sachin Pilot.
Some Congress MLAs, considered close to Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, who also heads the state Congress unit, have gone to Delhi, sources said. The posturing comes amid allegations by Gehlot that the BJP is trying to lure Congress MLAs to topple the state government.
The BJP has dismissed the claim, saying the developments reflect a power struggle between Gehlot and Pilot, simmering since the Congress leadership in Delhi picked the more senior leader for the CM's post.
Revenue Minister Harish Choudhary, Labour Minister Tikaram Jully, Health Minister Raghu Sharma were among those who visited the chief minister's residence here.
We all are meeting the chief minister since yesterday to express faith and confidence in his leadership. The MLAs have confidence in Gehlot's leadership, independent legislator Babulal Nagar said.
The crisis surfaced on Friday when the Rajasthan Police issued notices to Gehlot, Pilot and the government chief whip, seeking time from them to record their statements over an alleged bid to topple the state's Congress government.
Sources close to Pilot said the letter from the special operations group (SOG) had upset the Rajasthan Congress chief, who apparently saw this as a snub.
In a tweet Sunday, Gehlot stressed that the notices had gone to several people. He did not name Pilot in this connection, but said that a section of the media had interpreted the notices wrongly.
The notices have been issued to the chief minister, the deputy chief minister, the government chief whip and some other MLAs. It is a part of the process, SOG Additional Director General Ashok Rathore told PTI on Sunday. He said as the investigation proceeds, others could also be issued notices. Babulal Nagar is among the legislators issued with the notice.
The SOG has issued notice to me and has sought time. There are other MLAs who have received such notices, Nagar told reporters outside the CM's residence, where he had gone to meet him.
We have faith in the leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and we have expressed this to him, he added.
Apart from the SOG action, the state's Anti Corruption Bureau has also begun a probe into the alleged bid to destabilise the government.
The Congress government has distanced itself from the three independent MLAs -- Khushveer Singh, Omprakash Hudla and Suresh Tak -- who were named in the preliminary enquiry (PE).
Earlier, the government had the support of all 13 independent MLAs, who also voted for the Congress candidates in the Rajya Sabha elections last month.
At a press conference Saturday, Gehlot had blamed the BJP of trying to bring down his government and cited the FIR registered by the SOG. The FIR is based on an alleged tapped phone conversation between two men, said to be BJP members. The Congress has 107 members in the state 200-MLA state assembly.
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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.
