BJP seeks de-recognition of parties boycotting J&K polls
Jammu, Sep 29 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday demanded that all mainstream political parties boycotting the municipal and Panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir should be de-recognised.
Speaking to the media here, BJP spokesman Brigadier (retired) Anil Gupta said: "State's Chief Electoral Officer should de-recognise those political parties who have announced boycott of urban local bodies and panchayat polls.
"National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are both state and national level parties with reserved election symbols.
"These parties are mandated to participate in all elections, according to Section 29A(5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951."
Elections are the core of the democratic process and afford people an opportunity to express their will, Gupta said.
"By boycotting the elections, these political parties have not only betrayed the people of the state but also disrespected the Constitution which they had pledged to safeguard while applying for recognition of their political parties."
Suppression of the democratic process by these parties also amounts to gross violation of human rights, the BJP leader noted.
"The Chief Electoral Officer should immediately take up the issue with the Election Commission of India to de-recognize these parties and freeze their election symbols," he said.
Polling for the first phase of municipal elections begins on October 8, while panchayat polls are scheduled to be completed in November-December this year in the state.
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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.
