Portfolio allocation of newly-inducted ministers won't cause dismay: D.K Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Dec 28: Senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar Friday said fresh allocation of portfolios to newly-inducted ministers would not cause any dismay among the incumbents in the Congress-JDS coalition government.
He also said he was expecting Congress President Rahul Gandhi to announce the portfolios of all the 22 Congress ministers today.
"Allocation of portfolios to eight newly-inducted ministers will not cause any dismay among the incumbent ministers including me in the coalition government," he told PTI.
Noting that the Congress was a "disciplined party," he said, "The blackmailing tactics of Ramesh (Jarkiholi) and his group will not work out.. We value discipline very much."
After Jarkiholi was dropped from the ministry, he has threatened to quit as Congress lawmaker and is likely to announce his decision soon amid reports that he might join the BJP.
The audio of a conversation purportedly involving Jarkiholi was aired by local TV channels on Sunday where he is heard talking about his plans to quit as Congress MLA, fuelling speculations about him defecting to BJP.
Jarkiholi, who has allegedly been cosy with BJP leaders and not attending cabinet and party meetings, was replaced by his brother Satish Jarkiholi.
Asked about media reports on the rift between Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and Congress-JDS coalition coordination committee head Siddaramaiah over giving up of additional portfolios, Shivakumar said, "I am not aware of that."
According to reports, the meeting between top party leaders on Wednesday to decide on portfolios was not cordial, as Parameshwara expressed displeasure after Siddaramaiah asked him to give up some key portfolios.
However, the Deputy Chief Minister had later clarified that he would abide by the decision taken by the party high command.
Parameshwara currently holds the departments of home, Bengaluru city related affairs, youth affairs and sports.
Reacting to JDS leader Basavaraj Horatti's allegations that the Congress was not allowing Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to function in peace, Shivakumar said it was "false."
"The allegations are false.. We (Congress party) are not interfering.. We want a stable government. We want Kumaraswamy to be strong. At no point of time will I be a backstabber," he said.
Horatti has been upset with the Congress after he lost out to the party's Prathap Chandra Shetty in the race to occupy the legislative council chairman's seat.
Horatti, who was pro-tem chairman of the council, was one of the front-runners for the post.
He had also claimed that the Congress announced appointment of heads to 20 boards and corporations without consulting 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.
