Anna Hazare happy at Kejriwal's defeat, silent on allegations against Modi govt, claims Sanjay Raut
Mumbai, Feb 10 (PTI): Veteran social activist Anna Hazare is happy at the defeat of Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi assembly polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Sunday.
The BJP ended the Aam Aadmi Party's reign in Delhi by winning 48 seats in the 70-member assembly there. Among the prominent losers was Kejriwal from New Delhi constituency.
Raut also questioned the silence of Hazare on corruption allegations made over the past some years against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
"Where was Hazare when corruption occurred during Modi's rule? Hazare is happy over Kejriwal's defeat. The country is being looted with wealth concentrated in the hands of a single industrialist. How can democracy continue in such a situation? What could be the secret behind Hazare's silence at such a time," Raut questioned.
"There was a similar pattern regarding voters' list confusion in Maharashtra as well as in Delhi. However, Hazare chose to remain silent on such issues. Similar complaints were made in Haryana as well. These will come up in the Bihar polls too," the Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP told reporters.
Since the BJP came to power in 2014, elections have not followed constitutional procedures, he alleged.
"Victory is being secured through manipulation and money power," Raut claimed.
The outcome of the Delhi polls would have been different if the AAP and Congress had contested in alliance, he opined.
Hazare, while speaking to reporters on Saturday, after the Delhi poll results were declared, claimed Kejriwal did not pay attention to what he had told him and "only focussed on liquor", a reference to the scrapped excise policy brought in by the outgoing government.
"I have always said a candidate's conduct and thoughts must be pure, his life should be without blame and and it must involve sacrifice. These are the qualities that builds trust among voters. I had told this to Kejriwal but he did not pay heed. He was overwhelmed by money power," Hazare had said a day earlier.
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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.
