Proposal to name metro station after St Mary elicit objections from BJP, some sections
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's positive response to a proposal to name the upcoming metro station near Shivajinagar here, after St Mary, has elicited objections from some sections, including opposition BJP, which has termed the move as appeasement.
Participating in the inauguration of the annual feast at St Mary's Basilica on September 8, Siddaramaiah said his government would recommend to the Centre on the request made at the function.
The metro station is part of an under construction on the Pink Line in the city.
"A request has been made to name the metro station (after St Mary). I have spoken to Rizwar (Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad), who is from the constituency. If told as to which station should be named, we will send a recommendation to the central government," Siddaramaiah had said.
Accusing the Congress government of "appeasement politics", Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said, the naming of the metro station should not be on religious basis and his party is going to oppose it.
"Will they remove the name Shivajinagar? They should not go beyond the limits for pleasing someone. Appeasement has become the first choice of the Congress party. Because of appeasement, the party has gone to dogs now, still they are doing appeasement politics. It will not work. We will not allow it," the BJP leader told reporters.
Reacting to objections, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said, "We have just discussed it. There is a request (to name after St Mary). There is nothing wrong in the request. We will take a call on that."
There were also demands by some to name the station after late Kannada actor Shankar Nag, who is credited for his vision regarding having a rapid transit system for Bengaluru in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also slammed the Congress government's proposal.
"I condemn the Karnataka government's move to rename Shivajinagar metro station in Bengaluru after St Mary. Its an insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Congress has continued its tradition of insulting the Maratha warrior king since the time of Nehru who made comments against Shivaji Maharaj in his book Discovery of India," he told reporters in Mumbai on Thursday.
Fadnavis said he was praying that the Almighty gives Siddaramaiah sense to not go ahead with such a decision that is based on religion and was against the Maratha warrior king.
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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.
