CM Bommai, Siddaramaiah trade charges over PSI recruitment scam
Bengaluru, Jul 5: A war of words broke out between Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and opposition Congress leader Siddaramaiah over the police sub-inspector recruitment scam following the arrest of an ADGP-rank officer on Tuesday.
Mounting its attack on the government saying that it was trying to cover up the entire scam, Siddaramaiah demanded the resignation of Bommai.
The Chief Minister hit back at Siddaramaiah for demanding his resignation and sought to know whether he had resigned as chief minister when a recruitment scam had come to light during his tenure.
"The ADGP Amrit Paul has been arrested and subsequently suspended in the PSI recruitment scam. When we had raised this issue, this government charged us saying that there were no irregularities or corruption in the recruitment. They said this in March this year, Siddaramaiah, the former state chief minister, said in a press conference.
"Now in the same case, Amrit Paul who was in charge of recruitment, has been arrested and suspended. Now what they have to say on this? the Congress stalwart sought to know.
He alleged that the BJP government wanted to cover up the entire case.
"According to me, the Chief Minister, who is shielding everyone, should resign because he is the executive head. Further, there should be a judicial inquiry into the case," the former chief minister demanded.
Siddaramaiah also suspected that the raids carried out by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on Congress MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan was an attempt to divert public attention from the scam.
He also claimed that he has heard about the involvement of a former chief minister's son in the PSI recruitment scam.
Referring to Karnataka High Court judge Justice H P Sandesh's observation in the open court on Monday that he received a "transfer threat" for his remarks against the functioning of Anti-Corruption Bureau, Siddaramaiah expressed his dismay that even attempts were made to threaten a judge.
"They threatened the judge though he was not scared. When the judge is not safe, who is safe here? If the judge had not made his observation public, there would not have been an FIR against IAS officer J Manjunath, he said.
The ACB arrested Manjunath allegedly in a corruption case on Monday after the strong observations made by the court.
Counter-attacking Siddaramaiah, Bommai asked if he had resigned when many irregularities in recruitment came to light during his tenure as chief minister.
"When Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister, the question paper of the police sub-inspector recruitment exam leaked from Kalaburagi. Did he resign then? Going by this parameter, Siddaramaiah should have resigned many times, the Chief Minister said.
He even said the DIG from whose house the question paper leaked was neither arrested, nor suspended during Siddaramaiah's tenure.
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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.
