Three leaders in Karnataka earlier with BJP join Congress
Bengaluru: K Jayaprakash Hegde, who was until recently the Chairman of Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, and two former MLAs, B M Sukumar Shetty and M P Kumaraswamy, who were earlier with the BJP, on Tuesday joined the Congress party weeks before Lok Sabha polls.
Hegde - a former MLA, MP and Minister - as the Chairman of the Commission for Backward Classes, submitted the much awaited Socio-Economic and Education Survey report, popularly known as the 'caste census', to the government on February 29.
He is likely to be the Congress candidate from Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituency, according to party sources.
Hegde was earlier with the BJP, and during the tenure of the previous BJP government he was appointed as the Chairman of the Commission.
He had earlier unsuccessfully contested from the Udupi-Chikmagalur seat in 2009 and 2014 on a Congress ticket. He had won the seat in 2012 by-poll for Congress, after BJP's D V Sadananda Gowda vacated it to become the chief minister.
Hegde, a noted political figure, had previously represented the Brahmavar assembly constituency, twice and independent and once from erstwhile Janata Dal. He served as the minister of ports and fisheries in the then Janata Dal government and played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Udupi district, carved out of Dakshina Kannada.
Former BJP MLAs - B M Sukumar Shetty, who represented Byndoor Assembly Constituency in 2018, and Kumaraswamy, who represented Mudigere Assembly segment thrice - too joined the Congress on Tuesday. Both of them were denied tickets by the BJP in the 2023 assembly polls. They were with the Congress in the past.
Kumaraswamy had unsuccessfully contested the 2023 assembly polls from Mudigere on a JD(S) ticket.
They joined the party along with their supporters in the presence of state Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Home Minister G Parameshwara, Energy Minister K J George and several leaders.
Addressing Congress workers and leaders after joining the party, Hegde, Shetty and Kumaraswamy said, they will work for the success of the grand old party in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and take the works of the ruling government in Karnataka to the people.
Shivakumar, welcoming them into the party, said, Congress was strong and this has forced BJP and JD(S) to come together.
He said, "BJP is saying that they will win over 370 seats in the Lok Sabha polls (nationally). If they are so confident, why are they inducting Congress and other opposition party leaders in a number of states? If their party is strong, why do they want people from other parties," he asked.
Further stating that the BJP candidates list for Karnataka is likely to be announced in a couple of days, he said, "according to my information, they are replacing sitting MPs with new candidates in at least 10 seats, it is because there is anti-incumbency against them, as they did not respond to the concerns of the people. Knowing that 10 of them will lose, they are changing the candidates."
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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.
