Around 10 BJP MLAs in touch with us, says Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan
Yeddyurappa "daydreaming" about coming to power
Bengaluru, May 12: A senior Congress leader said on Sunday that Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa was "daydreaming" about coming to power and claimed that around 10 saffron party legislators were in touch with his party.
"From the day we formed the government, the BJP has been trying to (topple the government), it is not something new. From that day they have been giving deadlines (to the government)," state minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan told reporters in Hubli. "A BJP leader has spoken about 20 Congress MLAs; today 9-10 BJP (MLAs) are in touch with us."
Khan's comments come two days after Yeddyurappa had said the longevity of the state government would depend on the stand taken by about 20 "disgruntled" Congress legislators after the Lok Sabha election results.
Khan accused Yeddyurappa for "daydreaming" about coming to power. "It is true that the BJP people are in touch with us. Not from today, (but) for two-three months, nine-10 BJP MLAs are in touch with us," he said.
Asked about the names of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators who are in touch with the Congress, the minister said: "Let the BJP give the names of 20 Congress people, we will also give the names of nine BJP people."
Claiming that nothing would happen, Khan declared that he would retire from politics if the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) government falls after the election results on May 23 and challenged the BJP leaders to do the same if the coalition continues.
State Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao also hit out at the BJP over its claims and said the results would "shut the mouths" of those speculating about the fall of the coalition government.
"Earlier, too, they (BJP) had said the government will fall after Diwali, then Sankranti. They don't believe in their statements themselves. They don't have the guts, so they are making such false statements," Rao said.
Both the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are "baffled" as they know their defeat in the polls is imminent, the Congress leader told reporters in Hubli.
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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.
