Targeted deletion of minority, SC votes in Aland constituency in 2023 polls: Congress MLA B R Patil
New Delhi/Bengaluru(PTI): Congress MLA B R Patil, representing Aland constituency in Karnataka, on Thursday alleged that a targeted deletion of minority, scheduled caste and backward caste votes occurred during the 2023 state assembly election.
The MLA had won the Assembly election with a margin of over 10,000 votes in 2023.
During a press conference in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday cited the example of the Aland constituency.
He said the top 10 booths with maximum deletions were Congress strongholds. Congress won eight out of the 10 booths in 2018. This was not a coincidence; this was a planned operation, he alleged.
Later, speaking to reporters in Delhi, Patil said, “When I learnt about it (deletion of votes), Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge and I went to the Election Commission and the Deputy Commissioner and we held a press conference.”
The MLA claimed that there was a conspiracy to defeat him. A request under Form-7 of the Election Commission was sent by someone to delete voters.
“After this, the returning officer carried out a verification to find out any discrepancy or confusion. The officer ordered a status quo. If the status quo was not maintained and 6,994 votes were deleted then I would have lost the election. This is a big issue,” he added.
He said the request was made to delete “my voters in my constituency and not other voters”.
“The attack was made on my workers and my supporters in the area where I had a stronghold. Most of the targets were minorities, scheduled caste and backward castes – the Congress vote bank,” the MLA said.
Patil said if a thorough investigation is carried out, more details would come out.
“But the investigation is not happening. I have been going to the officials, discussing with them and pursuing it,” the Congress legislator said.
He claimed that there is evidence available since the complainant is the returning officer himself, and based on his complaint, the FIR was registered.
The returning officer is part of the Election Commission. He has to answer to the complaint lodged by him, Patil underlined.
“Since the ECI is not replying, it raises doubt that they are also at fault. Who is behind it, whose conspiracy is it? It must be investigated,” the MLA said.
Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is protecting those stealing votes, Patil said, “Yes. It’s true.”
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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.
