Ram Madhav withdraws charge that 'instruction from Pak' after Omar Abdullah’s dare
New Delhi, Nov 22: NC leader Omar Abdullah's dare to BJP general secretary Ram Madhav Thursday to prove his charge that the alliance to form government in Jammu and Kashmir was at Pakistan's behest has prompted the saffron party leader to withdraw his words.
The BJP and National Conference (NC) leaders exchanged sharp words on Twitter, a day after the state's governor dissolved the assembly, with Madhav asking Abdullah to fight the next polls together with the PDP if "genuine love" between the two parties promoted a "failed government" formation attempt.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had Wednesday written to Governor Satya Pal Malik that she will stake claim to form government with the support of the Congress and the NC.
It was followed by another bid from the two-member People's Conference which claimed the support of the BJP and 18 legislators from other parties.
As Malik dissolved the assembly, Madhav, who is his party's points man for the state, alleged that "fresh instructions" were given to the two regional parties from across the border to come together and form a government.
The NC and PDP, he alleged, had boycotted local body polls in the state earlier because of instructions from Pakistan. Both regional parties have been arch political rivals in the state.
Abdullah took to Twitter to hit out at the BJP leader.
"You have RAW, NIA & IB at your command (CBI too is your parrot) so have the guts to place evidence in the public domain. Either prove this or be man enough to apologise. Don't practice shoot & scoot politics," the former chief minister said.
Ram Madhav responded, "Just take it in your stride Omar Abdullah. Not questioning your patriotism at all. But the sudden love between NC and PDP and the hurry to form government leads to many suspicions and political comments. Not to offend you." In the tweet, he added an emoji with a toothy smile.
Abdullah did not seem amused.
"No, misplaced attempts at humour won't work. You HAVE claimed my party has been acting at the behest of Pakistan. I dare you to prove it! Place the evidence of your allegation of NC boycott of ULB polls at Pak behest in public domain," he tweeted.
Ram Madhav then responded with a tweet which appeared to be aimed at defusing the tensions.
"Now that you deny any external pressure I take back my comment, but now that you proved it was genuine love between NC and PDP that prompted a failed government formation attempt, you should fight next elections together. Mind you it's political comment and not personal," he said, adding a laughing emoji.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, the NC leader repeated his demand for an apology from Madhav.
"You cannot undermine the sacrifices made by National Conference workers in protecting the sovereignty of this country. He must apologise," he said.
I dare you @rammadhavbjp ji to prove your allegation. You have RAW, NIA & IB at your command (CBI too is your parrot) so have the guts to place evidence in the public domain. Either prove this or be man enough to apologise. Don’t practice shoot & scoot politics. https://t.co/KEbOo0z6O2
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 22, 2018
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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.
