Rahul Gandhi promises Rs one cr per village panchayat, Rs 5,000 cr for Kalyana Karnataka region
Jevargi/Ballari, Apr 28: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday promised allocation of Rs one crore for each village panchayat, and Rs 5,000 crore for the Kalyana Karnataka region if his party is voted to power in the May 10 State Assembly polls.
The former Congress chief also promised to set up an apparel park in Ballari with an investment of Rs 5,000 crore.
Amid rains, he addressed an election rally at Jevargi in Kalaburagi district, where he promised to fill 50,000 government job vacancies.
"We will allocate Rs 5,000 crore for this region. Each village panchayat will get Rs one crore," a drenched Gandhi said.
The Kalyana Karnataka region comprises the districts of Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Kalaburagi, Ballari and Vijayanagara.
At Ballari, it was his promise to set up an apparel park and not that of the Congress, he said, adding that he would ensure that the district became the number one jeans hub' in the world.
"This is my promise to make Ballari a jeans capital'. I want to see the day when whoever wears jeans will have Made in Ballari' written on it," Gandhi said.
Criticising the ruling party, he said Ballari was at the centre of the 40 per cent theft' and the "amount of theft BJP did in Ballari, no one else would have ever done here".
"This theft caused enormous loss to the people of Ballari. Now the major change will happen here. Not just in elections but in your life," Gandhi added.
He also made a 'prophecy' that the ruling BJP would get only 40 seats "since it loves this number".
READ ALSO: Congress targets BJP, demands expulsion of Basangouda Yatnal for calling Sonia Gandhi 'vishkanya'
Gandhi alleged that BJP ministers in Karnataka collected 40 per cent commission for public works from contractors and, hence, the party would not get more than 40 seats, while the Congress would win 150 seats and form the next government.
Calling the incumbent BJP government "a government by theft", he said the ruling party had purchased MLAs from opposition ranks.
"We are going to form the government. No one can stop our party from coming to power," Gandhi said.
He also reiterated the four key "guarantees" of the Congress: Rs 2,000 to woman head of families, 200 units of free power to every household, Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18 to 25 years) for two years, and 10 kg rice to every member of a BPL family a month.
Apart from this, Gandhi also announced the party's fifth "guarantee" on Thursday free bus ride for women in public transport buses.
From Bellary to Bengaluru, the people of Karnataka have spoken and their message is loud and clear - Congress is back and here to stay with 150+ seats!
— Indian Youth Congress (@IYC) April 28, 2023
Scenes from Shri @RahulGandhi‘s roadshow and public meeting at Bellary today. pic.twitter.com/TMewKPUD3k
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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.
