Yediyurappa government's achievement in one year is zero: Congress
Bengaluru: The opposition Congress alleged the BJP government in Karnataka was directionless in its one year in office and had not fulfilled promises made to people.
State Congress president D K Shivakumar also repeated the charge of corruption and loot" in the purchase of equipment for managing COVID-19 pandemic by the government led by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, a charge rejected by the latter.
There was 'lack' of coordination among Ministers. "This is a directionless government, they lack direction in everything... The government has completely failed, the corruption has gone to the peak," he told reporters here.
He dubbed as "a chain of lies" the list of achievements released by the government and said it had not been able to fulfill the promises made to people.
The government's achievement so far was 'zero', he said adding the ruling party can say it has completed one year in office, won bye-elections and carried out well "operation Lotus", a reference to defections allegedly engineered by the BJP to topple the Congress-JDS government last year.
Yediyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister for the fourth time on July 26, 2019, three days after the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) government led by H D Kumaraswamy that lost the trust vote after a section of the ruling combine MLAs raised a banner of revolt.
The KPCC president said his party will go to the "people's court" on the government's "failures and corruption".
Reiterating the party's allegation of "loot" of about Rs 2,000 crore in the purchase of equipment and supplies related to COVID-19, Shivakumar also demanded that the government give the list of people who were given cash relief during lockdown totaling to about Rs 1,600 crore as stated by it.
"As an opposition party we have demanded a white paper, is that wrong? Is it wrong to question your corruption and seek answers? Your Ministers have indulged in corruption in various departments," he alleged.
Congress and its legislative party leader Siddaramaiah had recently alleged that the total expenditure of the government relating to COVID was Rs 4,167 crore of which at least Rs 2,000 crore was pocketed by ministers and officials, a charge rejected by the government.
Recalling that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called the then Congress government as a 10 percent (commission) government during the 2018 assembly poll campaign, Shivakumar said, "....do you know what percentage it has gone to in corona purchase?"
"I want the honorable Prime Minister to intervene...look at what other states have purchased and at what price the Centre has purchased (COVID equipment)," he said.
He demanded an inquiry into the alleged misappropriation and corruption and said it can also look into graft charges leveled against the previous JDS-Congress rule by BJP ministers now.
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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.
