Congress' promise to ban Bajrang Dal taken to appease Muslims: Minister Sunil Kumar
Mangaluru (PTI): Decrying the promise in the Congress election manifesto that Bajrang Dal will be banned if they are voted to power, Karnataka Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar said the move is to appease the Muslims.
In a series of tweets, the minister said Bajrang Dal is not an anti-social organisation and it strives for protection of the Hindu community and gomata (mother cow).
Kumar, who was the state convenor of Bajrang Dal, said the organisation is a team of activists who are ready to undergo any sacrifice for the Hindu cause.
He wondered whether the Congress wants to ban Bajrang Dal just because the BJP banned the PFI last year.
Social Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary said the Congress does not know the difference between a patriotic organisation and an anti-social outfit.
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BJP MLAs and leaders in Dakshina Kannada district also deplored the pledge made by the Congress in its manifesto. Mangaluru North MLA Bharath Y Shetty said the assurance clearly proves that the Congress is totally 'anti-Hindu'.
Mangaluru South MLA Vedavyas Kamath said the Congress, as always, is resorting to appeasement politics, while BJP Dakshina Kannada district president Sudarshan Moodbidri said the promise has exposed the "mindset" of the Congress.
Meanwhile, Bajrang Dal workers on Tuesday evening carried out a protest in front of the district Congress office against the party's pledge to ban the organisation.
Raising slogans against the Congress move, they also burned a copy of the Congress manifesto.
The Congress on Tuesday promised a ban on Bajrang Dal in its Karnataka election manifesto, a move denounced by the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi who alleged that the opposition party which had "locked up" Lord Ram now wanted to target Lord Hanuman's devotees.
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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.
