Hope result will be better for opposition in 2024 LS polls: Mehbooba Mufti
Srinagar (PTI): PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday expressed hope that the result of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be better for the opposition parties after the BJP appeared set for a victory in three out of the four states that went to polls recently.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a party convention in Kupwara, around 100 km from here, Mufti said the opposition parties faced the might of the government, including its probe agencies, money power, and the Election Commission, in the Assembly elections.
"I hope that the results are better (for opposition) in 2024 (Lok Sabha polls) than these elections," Mufti, the former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, said.
"Today, when elections are held, on the one side is the opposition, and on the other side is the might of the government, agencies, money, and Election Commission," she said.
According to trends issued by the Election Commission, the BJP was leading in 155 of the 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 54 of the 90 seats in Chhattisgarh, and 111 of the 199 seats in Rajasthan.
Mufti refused to comment on the delay in elections in Jammu and Kashmir, saying she had come to Kupwara to address the problems of the people.
"I had come here to listen to the problems and sufferings of the people. We will talk about elections some other time," she said when asked about the delay in holding the polls.
She also refuted reports of internal bickering in the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) and asserted that the alliance was strong.
"Minor altercations do happen but the PAGD is strong," she said.
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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.
