CM Kumaraswamy meets Rahul Gandhi, assures coalition govt functioning smoothly
New Delhi, May 30: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy met Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday and conveyed to him that the state government was functioning smoothly and there was coordination between ruling coalition partners JD(S) and the Congress.
Kumaraswamy's meeting with the Congress chief comes in the backdrop of voices of dissent gaining ground in the ruling coalition in the southern state after two Congress MLAs met former chief minister S M Krishna at his Bengaluru residence on Sunday.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal is in Bengaluru currently to placate the disgruntled state leaders.
"The CM apprised Rahul Gandhi of the current political situation in the state and said the coalition government in the state is functioning smoothly with cooperation and coordination between both the parties," an official statement said.
During the brief meeting, the Janata Dal (Secular) leader also urged Gandhi not to quit as the Congress chief, saying "the nation needs his service", the statement added.
Kumaraswamy also discussed the outcome of the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka with Gandhi.
The coalition government in the southern state has been fragile since its inception with reports of its collapse surfacing every now and then.
Following the drubbing of the Congress-JD(S) combine in the Lok Sabha election, where the two parties managed to win only one seat each in Karnataka, a senior Congress leader had claimed that the state government would collapse after June 10.
Two Congress MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi and Sudhakar met BJP leaders at Krishna's residence, though they later claimed that their visit was not political.
The BJP, with 105 legislators, is the single-largest party in the 225-member Karnataka Assembly, while the ruling coalition has 117 MLAs 79 of the Congress, 37 of the JD(S) and one of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the House.
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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.
