Modi solely responsible for delay in arrival of Rafale jets: Congress
New Delhi : The Congress Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that the country witnessed his "monologue, fake bravado and narcissistic lies", as Rahul Gandhi accused him of being "solely responsible" for the delay in arrival of Rafale jets.
"Dear PM, Have you no shame at all? YOU stole 30,000 Crore and gave it to your friend Anil. YOU are solely responsible for the delay in the arrival of the RAFALE jets.
"YOU are WHY brave IAF pilots like Wing Cdr. Abhinandan, are risking their lives flying outdated jets," Gandhi said on Twitter.
The response came after Modi said the country was feeling the absence of Rafale and results would have been different if India had the fighter jets as he attacked the Congress for its tirade against his government over the aircraft deal.
"India is feeling the absence of Rafale. The entire country is saying in one voice today, that if we had Rafale, the results would have been different. The country has suffered a lot due to selfish interests earlier and now politics over Rafale," the prime minister said at the India Today conclave.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the nation witnessed a monologue by a "narcissistic" prime minister sans any sense of accountability.
He said the prime minister is obsessed with one word-- 'Modi' -- and forgets that India is a thriving democracy of 132 crore people with a multitude of opinions.
"When will Modiji take decisive action against Pakistan-sponsored terror? Compromising national security and gross intelligence failure are the characteristic style of a non-functioning Modi government.
"In last 56 months, 498 soldiers and officers have been martyred in Jammu and Kashmir alone. In the month of February 2019 alone, 55 brave soldiers laid down their lives due to the menace of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism," a statement quoting Surjewala said.
He said the prime minister had blatantly "politicised" the bravery and martyrdom of India's soldiers as a political pamphlet.
"Latest instances of Modiji's cronyism are the Rafale deal and handing over of 5 out of 6 airports to his crony friends," the statement said.
The Congress also hit out at the ruling dispensation for its alleged poor handling of the economy.
"Modiji's directionless policies and myopia of economic vision have been disastrous for India's economy. No wonder, every economic expert across the spectrum now says Modinomics' is harmful for the country.
"With nearly 50 days to go, India awaits for Modi government's departure," Surjewala 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.
