Finally Cabinet expansion gets nod: Who’s in, who’s out?
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Dec 21: Finally, AICC president Rahul Gandhi has given green signal to expand the Cabinet of the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state and reshuffle some portfolios.
As per the decision, it is said that the Congress has decided to drop Ministers Ramesh Jarkiholi and R Shankar from the Cabinet.
On Friday, former chief minister SIddaramaiah, DCM Dr G Parameshwar, KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao and working president Eshwar Khandre held talks with Karnataka incharge KC Venugopal in New Delhi and it is said that Venugopal has accepted the list of aspirants.
Meanwhile, the Congress leaders also held talks with AICC president Rahul Gandhi and decided to drop Ramesh Jarkiholi and R Shankar and induct Satish Jarakiholi and MTB Nagaraj in their places respectively. They have also decided to take Raheem Khan from Muslim community and CS Shivalli from North Karnataka region.
The Cabinet would be expanded on December 22. In view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the party leadership has decided to consider the district and caste-wise representation, sources said.
The state leaders would also hold discussion with the party high command on appointing ten parliamentary secretaries and chairpersons to 30 boards and corporations. But it is not yet finalized that who would get the chance.
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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.
