Prepared for BBMP elections, welcome SC order: CM Bommai
Bengaluru, May 20: Welcoming the Supreme Court order on Friday regarding elections to the Bengaluru civic body, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the state government is prepared and would make all arrangements to conduct the polls.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court said necessary notifications regarding delimitation of wards and determining reservation percentage for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) should be notified within eight weeks.
The apex court also noted that the process of delimitation of wards is at the final stage and formal notification will be issued shortly by the government.
The top court said it has been urged before it that the state may be permitted to issue notification regarding delimitation within eight weeks.
"The government will make all the arrangements to conduct the elections, the Chief Minister told reporters, reacting to the order.
On whether the government will seek more time to conduct the elections, Bommai said the SC order has to be followed. We are already prepared for the election," he added.
The Chief Minister said the "Madhya Pradesh judgement" was worrying the government because the apex court had ordered that the elections should be held for local bodies -- urban and the rural without reservations.
But the Supreme Court has amended both for Madhya Pradesh as well as the BBMP. They have allowed us to do delimitation and reservations in eight weeks as per the new act. I welcome the judgment, Bommai said.
Stating that the delimitation of wards is in the final stage, the Chief Minister said he will direct the authorities concerned to issue a notification at the earliest.
He added that he has requested the committee working on the reservation of wards to finish it in eight weeks.
One satisfactory matter for us is that in the previous order, the SC had directed conducting elections without any reservation for the OBC. We had however, decided not to conduct elections without reservations for the OBC and decided to contest it in the apex court. Accordingly, a good decision has taken place, Bommai said.
Reacting to the Supreme Court order, BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said the only task to be undertaken by the civic body is to conduct delimitation of wards whereas reservation of wards has to be done by the government.
For this purpose, eight weeks time has been given within which we will do it. Delimitation is almost at the final stage. We will send it to the government, Giri Nath said.
The Karnataka government decided to increase the number of wards from the existing 198 to 243. As a result, the delimitation of wards along with reservation was taken up, which delayed the BBMP election for almost two years.
The civic body was dissolved after the term was over on September 10, 2020.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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
===================
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.
