JDS minister's 'street dog' jibe at BJP leaders
Bengaluru, Dec 29: Taking a dig at BJP leaders, who were "expecting" the Congress-JDS coalition government to fall, JDS leader D C Thamanna has drawn an analogy between them and the 'street dogs' while refuting BJP lawmaker Umesh Katti's claim that the dispensation would collapse soon.
Katti had recently claimed that 15 disgruntled MLAs of the ruling coalition were in touch with him and that the saffron party would form the new government in Karnataka by next week.
Hitting out at Katti, Thammana said, "J H Patel (a former chief minister) had once narrated a story in the state assembly about an elephant and street dogs. He recalled Patel saying an elephant was walking ahead of street dogs who were hoping something would fall from atop the tusker that they would eat.
"Neither did the food fall, nor the dogs got something to eat. This story fits perfectly with BJP leaders, who are expecting this government to fall," the Karnataka Minister told reporters on Friday at Maddur near Mysuru.
Replying to a query, Thamanna said Katti has been predicting the government's fall "today or tomorrow" for quite some time.
"For the past seven months, we are hearing this every day but this has not materialised," he said.
Soon after Katti's claim, state BJP chief and Leader of the Opposition B S Yeddyurappa had ruled out any attempt by his party to destabilise the present dispensation.
He said his party would take an "appropriate decision" if there was political instability in the state.
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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.
