Union Minister Suresh Gopi calls Indira Gandhi "mother of India"
Thrissur (Kerala) (PTI): Union Minister Suresh Gopi on Wednesday described former PM Indira Gandhi as the "mother of India" and late Congress Chief Minister K Karunakaran as a "courageous administrator".
The BJP leader also called Karnuakaran and Marxist veteran E K Nayanar as his "political gurus".
Gopi was speaking to reporters after visiting the memorial of Karunakaran, "Murali Mandiram" located in Punkunnam here.
Interestingly, Suresh Gopi had won Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency by dashing the hopes of Karunakaran's son and Congress leader K Muraleedharan who finished third in a triangular contest in the April 26 polls.
Urging mediapersons not to add any political connotation to his visit to Karunakaran memorial, the BJP leader said he came here to pay his respects to his "guru".
He said like Nayanar and his wife Sarada Teacher, he had close relations with Karunakaran and his wife Kalyanikutty Amma also.
He had visited Nayanar's home in Kannur and renewed his relationship with his family members on June 12.
Gopi said as he viewed Indira Gandhi as "bharathathinte mathavu" (mother of India), Karunakaran was the "father of the Congress party in the state" for him.
He explained that describing Karunakaran as the "father" of the Congress in Kerala was not a disrespect to the founders or co-founders of the grand old party in the southern state.
The actor-turned-politician also hailed the administrative capabilities of the Congress veteran and dubbed him as a "courageous administrator" of his generation.
He further said though he had expressed his desire to visit the Murali Mandiram in 2019 also, the veteran's daughter Padmaja Venugopal, who recently defected to the BJP, discouraged him due to political reasons.
Later, Suresh Gopi also visited the famous Lourde Mata Church in the city and offered prayers.
He and his family's presentation of a golden crown to the idol of St Mary during his daughter's marriage was used by his political opponents to target him, alleging that it was not made of yellow metal but copper.
Gopi won the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat, opening an account for the BJP in Kerala.
Thrissur had witnessed a three-way contest for the Lok Sabha polls, with major candidates from the Congress, BJP, and CPI locked in a neck-and-neck battle.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
