Textbook row: Members of Cong students wing try to create ruckus at Minister's house; 15 held
Bengaluru, June 1: Some members of the Congress' student wing - NSUI (National Students Union of India) - allegedly tried to stage a protest and besiege the house of Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh at Tiptur in Tumakuru district of Karnataka on Wednesday over the school textbook controversy.
The activists were said to be protesting against the textbook review committee, headed by Rohith Chakratirtha, and alleged inclusion of RSS's philosophy in school textbooks. There have been demands for sacking Chakratirtha for allegedly saffronising school textbooks by including in them a lesson on RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar's speech, and for changing the content in the books.
There are also allegations of erroneous content on a 12th century social reformer Basavanna in the textbook, also accusations on insulting poet Kuvempu.
"NSUI workers barging into the premises of the Education Minister B C Nagesh's house and creating a ruckus is condemnable. Such a conduct does not suit students... Merciless action will be taken against those involved in such acts," Bommai tweeted.
State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra's office, in a statement, said the miscreants, said to be from NSUI, entered the premises of Nagesh's house, raised slogans and set fire to the uniform of the RSS.
Police stopped things from getting out of control and took 15 people into custody.
Jnanendra, also in-charge of Tumakuru district, visited Nagesh's residence and took stock of the situation.
Condemning the incident, he said a policeman was injured in the incident. "Strict action will be taken against those involved." The police intervened and pushed protestors outside the premises of Minister's house, official sources said, adding that 15 people have been taken into custody in connection with the incident.
As the news of the alleged ruckus by NSUI activists at Nagesh's house spread, several of his Cabinet colleagues, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, condemned the incident.
Jnanendra, who is also in-charge of Tumakuru district, visited Nagesh's residence and took stock of the situation.
He said a policeman was injured in the incident. "Strict action will be taken against those involved."
State BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, State Health Minister K Sudhakar, PWD Minister C C Patil and Power Minister Sunil Kumar too condemned the students wing members.
Meanwhile, Bommai said Nagesh would submit a report on textbook revision on June 2 in the wake of the controversy.
A few seers and literary figures have written to Bommai seeking action on the controversy.
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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.
