Siddaramaiah dares BJP to come clean on bid to topple Cong-JDS govt
Bengaluru, Jan 2 : Former Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah Wednesday challenged the BJP to come clean on its alleged attempts to bribe his party MLAs to destabilise the coalition government in the state.
The Congress leaders are locked in a war of attrition with the BJP ever since the ministry was recently expanded and reshuffled, amid reports that the saffron party was in touch with disgruntled MLAs who missed ministerial berths.
"I am not indulging in a blame game with the BJP in connection with attempts to bribe the MLAs. There is a basis behind the statement. Is it not true that they (BJP) made an offer to B C Patil? When the time is ripe, I will disclose a few more things," Siddaramaiah said in a tweet.
Two days ago, the leader of the Congress Legislature Party had alleged that the BJP had made a fresh attempt to topple the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government by offering Rs 25 to 30 crore to the legislators.
Rubbishing the charge, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president B S Yeddyurappa had asked Siddaramaiah to speak responsibly and provide evidence to back his charge.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara too had on Tuesday accused the BJP of making a fresh bid to topple the government, claiming that efforts were underway to arrange a meeting of his party's disgruntled MLAs with BJP president Amit Shah.
Parameshwara's charge had come amid reports that aggrieved Congress MLA, Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was dropped from the ministry in the recent reshuffle, was camping in Delhi.
Jarkiholi, who claims to have the support of a significant number of Congress MLAs, has remained incommunicado since he was removed from the ministry.
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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.
