Textbook controversy: "Will respectfully respond to Deve Gowda," says CM Bommai
Bengaluru, Jun 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said he will hold discussion with Education Minister and officials regarding the revised school textbook controversy, decide on possible measures and "respectfully respond" to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, who has written to him on the issue.
He was referring to a letter written by Gowda demanding withdrawal of the revised textbook and continuation of old textbook revised by the previous textbook review committee by Baraguru Ramachandrappa.
"I will have a meeting with heads of the education department and the Education Minister on Wednesday where his (Gowda) letter will be discussed. His suggestions would be considered seriously and we will decide on whatever possible measures that could be taken, and will respond to him respectfully," Bommai said in response to a question on Gowda's letter.
Stating that numerous errors in the textbook cannot be rectified merely through corrigendum and separate printing of pages, Gowda in a letter to the Chief Minister dated June 20 said the revised textbooks should be withdrawn and be replaced with the previous one.
He also expressed support for the charter of demands by Vishwamanava Krantikari Mahakavi Kuvempu Horata Samiti.
The rights collective had staged a protest here on Saturday over the school textbooks row, giving a 10-day ultimatum to the Karnataka government to comply with their demands, which include withdrawal of the revised textbooks and continuation of textbooks designed by the previous Baraguru Ramachandrappa committee (under Siddaramaiah-led Congress regime).
Deve Gowda, state Congress president D K Shivakumar, former Supreme Court Justice V Gopala Gowda, former High Court Justice H N Nagmohan Das, pontiffs, writers were among participants of the protest mobilised by the Vishwamanava Krantikari Mahakavi Kuvempu Horata Samiti.
The JD(S) supremo in his letter said the revised textbooks are devoid of values like social justice, equality, and secularism professed by Dr Ambedkar and Kuvempu (a highly regarded Kannada poet).
Accusing the chairman of the textbook revision committee (Rohith Chakrathirtha) of insulting the state poet Kuvempu, state song, state flag, he noted that Ambedkar has been diminished, picture of Kuvempu has been removed from the social sciences textbook and key contents regarding the movement launched by Basavanna have been dropped, among other things.
Responding to another question, Bommai said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his appreciation for the welfare programmes and development works of the state and union governments being implemented in the state.
He said Modi usually likes good governance and development-oriented administration.
"The Prime Minister's appreciation has given me more strength to work with greater vigour and efficiency," Bommai said.
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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.
