Hailakandi: Continuing his tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said the 'chowkidar' (watchman) is not only a "thief", but also a "coward" as he avoids having a direct debate with the opposition party chief.

Launching a volley of criticism, Gandhi said Modi and his schemes "benefited" only the rich businessmen like Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi in the last five years.

"Chowkidar is not only chor, but also a coward. I told the Chowkidar to debate with me as he talks about corruption.

He does not have the guts and fled away," the Congress president said at a public rally here.

Reaching the venue almost two hours late by road instead of a planned chopper ride from Silchar airport due to heavy rains, Gandhi said the media reports have been of giving money to the rich people like Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi, but not to poor people.

"Narendra Modi ran the government in five years to give benefits to only 15 people and gave non-stop money to the richest people of the country. After Congress comes to power in 2019, the headline will be poor people are given money," he added.

Gandhi alleged that Modi made false promises over giving two crore jobs, fair prices to farmers and depositing Rs 15 lakh in everyone's bank accounts.

"Chowkidar took away your money by demonetisation and GST. The keys of the banks were handed over to thieves like Anil Ambani. Once we will come to power, we will snatch that key from Anil Ambani and give it to the youths of the Barak valley," he said at the rally in Barak valley.

Gandhi also said that as soon as the Congress forms the government at the Centre, the party will work towards making 33 per cent women's reservation in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas.

He also spoke about the Congress promise of depositing Rs 72,000 annually in the bank accounts of the 20 per cent of the poorest people across the country irrespective of region, religion and caste.

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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.