Resigning from Assembly as I cannot fulfill duty: BJP MLA Terash Gowalla
Guwahati, Oct 23 : First-time BJP MLA Terash Gowalla Tuesday said he has sent his resignation letter from the Assam Assembly to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
The legislator from Duliajan constituency said he has sent his letter to Sonowal, who is the leader of the BJP Legislature Party in the state, on Monday night.
Confirming the development, a senior BJP party official said, "Yes, he has sent the resignation to the CM's office on Monday."
Asked about the reasons for resigning from the house, Gowalla said, "There are various issues. I am not able to fulfill my duties as MLA. So, taking the moral responsibility, I am resigning from the Assembly."
When pointed out that the issue of not offering him any post, particularly in Assam Gas Company Ltd (AGCL), during the recent appointments, Gowalla said, "That is one reason.
The AGCL is in Duliajan and people elected me as their representative. They had some expectations from me.
"However, without consulting me, the appointment in the company was made. I am not saying that you (government) give me the post, but at least I should have been consulted."
Asked if there was any possibility of withdrawing the resignation under party pressure, Gowalla said, "I have informed the issues to the CM. If I get a satisfactory answer, I may re-consider it."
Gowalla told PTI he has not sent the letter to the Spaker, Hitendra Nath Goswami, which he will be doing after consulting the people of his constituency.
When contacted, the Principal Secretary of the Assembly Secretariat, M K Deka said, they had not received any intimation about the MLA's resignation.
At present, the saffron party has 61 representatives in the 126-member Assembly.
Sonwal on Monday appointed various persons, including politicians from the BJP, AGP and BPF, as chairman, vice chairman and directors of 40 government-run bodies.
This included appointment of Sadiya MLA Bolin Chetia as chairperson and Indra Gogoi as the vice chairperson of Assam Gas Company Ltd.
Terming it as "very unfortunate", Congress spokesperson Rhituporna Konwar said, "It is nothing but opportunistic politics".
When people are worried about their own identity and a conglomerate of organisations have called an Assam Bandh, Gowalla resigned for his own benefit.
"The BJP MLA had sought peoples' mandate as a legislator only to serve the constituency and not to be appointed as chairman of AGCL or any other company post," the Congress leader said.
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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.
