Maharashtra BJP MLA quits, cites 'corruption' in Rafale deal as reason
Mumbai : A day after he met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Wardha, BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh Wednesday resigned from the Maharashtra Assembly, citing alleged corruption in the Rafale deal as the reason.
Deshmukh had Tuesday announced his decision to quit as MLA and submitted his resignation to the Assembly Speaker Wednesday.
Deshmukh, who represented the Katol constituency in the Vidrabha region, is likely to join the Congress which he had quit before the assembly polls four years ago, sources close to him said.
In a statement issued Wednesday evening, Deshmukh said schemes such as Make in India, Magnetic Maharashtra (the BJP-led state government's investment summit) and Skill India "showed no results on the ground".
"Also, there is mega corruption in the Rafale deal," he alleged.
On his meeting with Rahul Gandhi Tuesday, Deshmukh said, "Youths have a lot of expectations from him." Deshmukh said BJP leaders had reneged on the promise of creating a separate state of Vidarbha.
"When I launched a hunger strike for creation of Vidarbha in 2013, BJP leaders Nitin Gadkari, Devendra Fadnavis and Vinod Tawde assured me of carving out a separate state once the BJP came to power. They did not keep the promise and did nothing for betterment of Vidarbha," he said.
Meanwhile, a BJP leader said Deshmukh's resignation may not be accepted immediately as the party wants to avoid a by-poll to the seat ahead of the Winter Session of the state legislature starting next month.
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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.
