Deplorable that union govt has submitted false information to SC: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Apr 8: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday accused the union government of submitting “false information” to the Supreme Court in an attempt to “deceive” the court about the rightful drought relief that the state is entitled to, and termed the move “deplorable”.
Faced with continued delays by the union government in providing the rightful drought relief to Karnataka, the state government was compelled to seek justice from the Supreme Court, he said.
Siddaramaiah, in a release said that during today’s hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the Karnataka government is to blame for the delay in drought relief, suggesting a political motive behind it.
“This is highly condemnable,” Siddaramaiah said.
ALSO READ: Let there be no contest between the Centre and States: SC on K'taka's plea for drought funds release
The Solicitor General stated that “for drought relief, they (Karnataka) could have talked to us (union government). We know the timing of these petitions. Lordships may not issue notice, it also becomes a news”, and he attempted to shift blame onto the Karnataka government to cover up the union government's failures, the chief minister said.
The Supreme Court on Monday while hearing the Karnataka government’s plea seeking a direction to the Centre to release financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the state for drought management said, "Let there not be a contest between the union and the state."
The Karnataka government has declared a total of 223 out of 236 taluks as drought-affected. While 196 taluks are categorised as severely affected, the remaining 27 as moderately affected.
Nothing that he has repeatedly said over the past 2-3 months that his government had submitted to the union government in September 2023 itself a memorandum including the details of the losses and the expected relief amount for the drought, Siddaramaiah said, "After that, I and Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda had met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to appeal (for release of drought relief funds).”
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar too had separately met the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he said, “Despite this, the union finance minister and the home minister shamelessly continue to falsely claim that the Karnataka government has been late in submitting its request. Today, the union government repeated this lie before the Supreme Court as well.”
The Supreme Court, taking into account the statement made by the Solicitor General of the union government, has postponed the case for two weeks, the CM said. The union government is required to prepare its response before the next hearing.
“Our fight against the injustice done by the union government in the provision of drought relief will continue not just on the streets but also in the courts. We will expose the lies of the union government one by one and reveal its true face to the people of the state,” he added.
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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.
