No change of leadership in Goa, says state BJP chief
Panaji, Oct 19: The BJP's Goa unit on Friday said there would be no change of leadership in the coastal state.
Addressing a press conference here, Goa BJP unit chief Vinay Tendulkar ruled out the possibility of the party replacing ailing chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
His comments come a day after Vijay Desai, president of Goa Forward Party, a BJP ally in the state, claimed that the saffron party was "looking at who will succeed Parrikar".
The coalition partners in the state had met BJP president Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the current political situation.
"The party wants this government to continue for the next three-and-half years and complete its tenure under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar," Tendulkar said.
When asked whether the BJP had lost its majority since three of its MLAs are ailing, Tendulkar said, "The Assembly will not be called tomorrow itself. There is time for the Assembly to be summoned."
He said the Parrikar government had the support of 23 MLAs and the ailing MLAs can make it to the Assembly in case their presence is required.
Besides Parrikar, two other BJP MLAs, Francis D'Souza and Pandurang Madkaikar, are currently hospitalised.
The Goa BJP chief said he had met Madkaikar and that his health was improving.
Responding to questions about Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte, who joined the BJP on Tuesday, Tendulkar said they had joined the ruling party "unconditionally".
"They wanted to work under the leadership of Parrikar," he added.
BJP MLA and state power minister Nilesh Cabral refuted allegations that administrative work was hit in Parrikar's absence.
"Who gave you the impression that Parrikar is not doing administrative work?" he asked.
Cabral said the administration was working fine and Parrikar was monitoring files through emails during his absence from office.
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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.
