BJP MLA Umesh Katti claims 15 Cong-JDS MLAs in touch with him; Congress dismisses it
Bengaluru : Senior Karnataka BJP MLA Umesh Katti Wednesday claimed he was in touch with 15 disgruntled legislators of ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition and his party would welcome them if they chose to join it.
The eight-time MLA further claimed BJP would form a new government in the state by next week, drawing a strong reaction from state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao, who hit out at him for making "illusionary statements" to 'confuse' people.
The claim by Katti came in the midst of public display of anger by some ministerial aspirants from Congress who were left out in the recent cabinet expansion.
Senior MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, upset after being dropped from the H D Kumaraswamy ministry, has threatened to resign and said he would announce his future course of action later this week.
Chief Minister Kumaraswamy and senior Congress leaders and ministers have asserted that no MLA would resign and there was no threat to the stability of the six-month old government.
BJP state President B S Yeddyurappa separately said Wednesday that the party was not in touch with any disgruntled MLAs of Congress.
Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, Katti said: "Fifteen MLAs are in touch with me, I cannot divulge their names now, when time comes I will tell.
However, ruling out 'Operation Lotus' (engineering defections), Katti said, "we will welcome those who are pained in Congress and JD(S) and want to join our party. If they come, we will induct them into our party and form the government, he said.
Replying to a question, Katti said he would welcome if Ramesh Jarkiholi came to the BJP.
New government will be formed by the BJP in Karnataka by next week. How it will be formed, why it will be formed, dont think about it. When it is formed we will tell you, he added.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Commitee President Gundu Rao asked Katti not to confuse people by making such illusionary statements.
If it doesnt happen, Katti will have to resign if he has guts, he told reporters.
Reacting to Raos comments, Katti claimed that already eight to ten (Congress-JDS) MLAs were ready to resign.
"So as a party with 104 MLAs in the 224 member assembly, Im confident we can form the government," he said maintaining that the Congress-JDS government would fall "100 per cent".
Yeddyurappa said the BJP had nothing to do with the disgruntlement among the MLAs of the ruling combine.
"...if they are fighting internally, lets wait and watch what will happen at the end...till now no one has contacted us, nor we have contacted anybody and we don't require it also..." he told reporters here.
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.
