CM Siddaramaih rubbishes exit polls, says Cong will win 15-20 seats in State
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaih on Monday concurred with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement terming exit polls as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's media poll, as he asserted that the party will win 15-20 Lok Sabha seats out of 28 in the state.
Rahul Gandhi on Sunday dubbed the exit polls as "Modi media poll".
Exit polls on Saturday predicted that Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls.
They have also predicted the BJP-JD(S) alliance's sweep in Karnataka, and none of them gave the ruling Congress a double-digit figure.
"Already Rahul Gandhi has reacted to exit polls, he has called it a Narendra Modi's media survey. In Karnataka we will win more seats, we will win 15-20 seats," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
"(M) Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress President) has said that across the country INDIA bloc will win 295 seats. I support it," he added.
The then ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance had come a cropper, winning just one seat each in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. The BJP had swept the polls, winning 25 seats, and had ensured the victory of a party supported independent candidate in Mandya.
The JD(S) this time is in alliance with BJP, and has contested in three seats -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar.
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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.
