Bengaluru: Expelled JD(S) Karnataka state president C M Ibrahim is gearing up for a major showdown against JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and his family by organising party's national convention in Bengaluru on December 11.
In his capacity as the 'state president', the 75-year-old leader has convened a national level meeting in Bengaluru. He claimed that the party members and leaders from across the country will participate.
"We are organising a national level meeting where we will provide accommodation. State presidents from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala leaders, Rajasthan and all over the country are coming here," the former Civil Aviation Minister told reporters here.
According to Ibrahim, the agenda is 'Stand for Secularism'.
Ibrahim who was expelled for rebelling against the party leadership for forging an alliance with the BJP for the Lok Sabha election, said, "I am an elected man. They can't remove me. My father has not appointed me as a president. I have been elected by the voters of the Janata Dal (Secular) leaders."
The convention is aimed at aligning the party with the INDIA bloc instead of BJP led NDA. He also said he is in touch with like-minded people such as Akhilesh Yadav, Nitish Kumar, RJD leaders, K Chandrashekar Rao of BRS, M K Stalin and Pinarayi Vijayan.
Noting that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is contemplating contesting in the Lok Sabha election from Karnataka, he welcomed the decision. He added that 'his party' will back him.
"Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi had contested from Karnataka and now her grandson will be contesting from here. We will welcome him here. Let him choose whichever constituency he wants. We will support him," Ibrahim said.
The expelled JD(S) leader alleged that the BJP won in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh due to EVM hacking.
Ibrahim demanded that the Election Commission of India conduct elections using ballot papers.
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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.
