Congress efforts on Rafale deal will fall flat: Athawale
Kolkata, Sep 27 : The Congress campaign against the Modi government on the Rafale deal will fall flat and the BJP will win more than 300 seats in the 2019 general elections, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said on Thursday.
Accusing Congress President Rahul Gandhi of repeatedly making "baseless allegations" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the fighter jet deal with France, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment claimed that such campaigns will not reap much benefit for either Gandhi or his party as its seats tally in 2019 will not cross 70.
"The Rafale issue is being blown out of proportion. Rahul Gandhi is making abusive statements about the Prime Minister. He has even called Modi ji a thief. But if he wants to have people and leaders of other parties by his side, he has to desist from making such baseless allegations," Athawale told reporters here.
"The Congress can get close to 60-70 seats in 2019 but their tally will not cross 70. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which won 282 seats in 2014, will get more than 300 seats this time. The NDA alliance will form the government and Modi ji will become the Prime Minister again because the developmental work under this government has been unprecedented," the Republican Party of India (RPI) leader claimed.
"The BJP will also win significant number seats in Bengal. The BJP is doing well in Bengal politics. We will continue our alliance with the BJP. My party has good infrastructure in 17 Bengal districts," he added.
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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.
