Nirmala defends India celebrating surgical strike
Bengaluru, Sep 30 : Denying that the government was politicising the Army's surgical strike inside Pakistan two years ago, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said it was being celebrated as a festival to show that India won't take any attack on its troops lying down.
"The 'Parakram Parv' is being celebrated in over 50 cities across the country to show that we are not going to accept a blatant cowardly act of a neighbour getting into our Army base and killing soldiers who were resting and unarmed," Sitharaman told reporters here.
Giving the backdrop of the fest over the surgical strike on the intervening night of September 28-29, 2016, Sitharaman said it was necessary for the Army to hit the terrorist launch pads of the enemy in their territory.
"Though there have been quite a few infiltrations over the past few years and actions were taken to eliminate the intruders, it was a call of the Army with political backing to strike at the terrorist launch pads of our enemies," she recalled.
Considered the deadliest attack on Indian security forces, 17 soldiers were killed by four heavily armed militants in the Army's base camp near Uri town in northwest Kashmir on September 18.
"As the terror attack happened inside the base on unarmed soldiers, it was necessary for the Army to strike at the enemy in its territory," she asserted.
Claiming that people in large numbers had come to mark the event and show solidarity with the armed forces, the Minister said if anyone raised questions about the celebration, she would ask if it was something to be ashamed of.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
