Maharashtra BJP jolted ahead of Palghar election
Palghar (Maharashtra), May 4: In a jolt to the BJP, family members of the late Lok Sabha member Chintaman Vanga from Palghar walked over to ally Shiv Sena, accusing the former of meting out "injustice".
Jaishree, the widow of Vanga, the BJP MP who died on January 30 in New Delhi after a heart attack, along with her children Srinivas and Prafulla called on Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray late on Thursday and announced their decision to quit the BJP.
"Since the past over 35 years, Chintaman Vanga has built up the party in this region, but the BJP leaders have done injustice to us and totally ignored us. We sought time from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP state President Raosaheb Patil-Danve but we got no response," said Jaishree Vanga.
Accordingly, the family said it had decided to quit the Bharatiya Janata Party and join the Shiv Sena.
Welcoming them to the party fold, Thackeray said the Vanga family had thrown its lot with the Shiv Sena to further the cause of 'Hindutva' ideology and to avoid a split in Hindutva votes.
"We hold the Vanga family in high regards. They have not demanded party ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypolls (May 28). We shall discuss the matters jointly with the Shiv Sena workers in Palghar and take a final decision on the candidate," Thackeray said.
He said if it was a matter of getting an election ticket, they could have gone to any party, but they preferred the Shiv Sena on ideological grounds.
Jaishree Vanga said that since the past many decades, they have enjoyed cordial relations with both the Shiv Sena founder-partriarch, the late Bal Thackeray, and his son Uddhav Thackeray.
"Our father worked hard for the party even when it had two MPs, but now after his death, we have been left in the lurch," one of the sons pointed out.
Adding that there would be no alliance with the BJP in any future election, Thackeray said after a meeting with his party leaders, he would take the final call on announcing candidates for the Palghar and Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha bypolls scheduled this month-end.
The ruling BJP has not yet officially reacted to the developments in Palghar, a crucial constituency with a large number of tribals and backward classes voters, around 100 km north of Mumbai.
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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.
