PM reacting to a statement I never made, says Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, Jan 12: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Saturday said he was "amused" at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "clerk" comment referring to him and clarified that he had never made such a statement.
"I am amused to see Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi reacting to a statement which I never made.
After farmers loan this is the second time he is reacting to false information/statement.
Such statements won't deter our coalition government from the development agenda," Kumaraswamy Said in a tweet.
The "farmers' loan" was a reference to Modi's statement at a rally in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh in December 29 last year that Congress promised loan waivers to lakhs of farmers, but the JD(S)-Congress coalition in Karnataka did not deliver.
"Lollipops" were handed out. The loan waiver was given to only 800 farmers, Modi had claimed.
Addressing the BJP's National Convention in New Delhi Saturday, Modi referred to a reported statement of Kumaraswamy about functioning like a clerk.
"In Karnataka, where there is a coalition government,what is the Chief Minister there saying? Karnataka Chief Minister, who is the Chief Minister of a coalition government.
It has been a just few months, but he is worried so much that he is saying that instead of (being treated as) Chief Minister, he is being treated like a clerk," Modi said.
According to some media reports, Kumaraswamy, during the recent meeting with party legislators, had told them that he was working under pressure.
The reports had also quoted the Chief Minister as having told them that he was functioning like a clerk and accusing the JDS coalition partner Congress of interference.
Kumaraswamy had on Thursday rubbished the media reports, terming them as "speculative" and "imaginary".
Reacting to the Prime Minister's comments, JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda asked "Will he praise the coalition government and not criticise?"
No one should speak lightly about anybody. I don't have the practise of talking lightly about anyone. I don't want its advantage also", he said.
The state Congress too has hit back at Modi, calling him a "leader of failures".
"Respected Narendra Modi, you have called the Chief Minister of a democratically elected government a clerk.
You, aleader of failures, lord of lies, have diminished the position of Prime Minister," Karnataka Congress said in a tweet in Kannada.
It attacked the Prime Minister for not coming to Parliament and responding to the charges against him.
Noting that the matter was something between Congress and JD(S), the coalition coordination committee chief and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asked what Modi has to do with it.
He said "Modi doesn't know anything he is trying to instigate"
Karnataka BJP leaders Prahlad Joshi and Jagadish Shettar defended Modi's remark, saying that he was only quoting Kumaraswamy.
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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.
