PM behaving like a puppet in the hands of RSS: Cong President Kharge
Bengaluru (PTI): Charging the Prime Minister Narendra Modi with behaving like a puppet in the hands of the RSS, Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused the organisation and the BJP of conspiring to distort the Constitution. He also called upon Congressmen and party leaders to face the upcoming Lok Sabha polls with unity and protect the Constitution and democracy.
The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha was speaking after unfurling the national tricolour at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office here on the occasion of Republic Day.
"Probably if there was no Constitution for this country, it would not have been possible for us to save democracy. With lots of effort, leaders of our freedom struggle and the Constituent Assembly members gave this country the Constitution," Kharge said.
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Addressing Congress workers and leaders, he said the Constitution contains important principles like equality, fraternity, secularism and justice.
"The RSS and BJP are conspiring to distort this Constitution and to make changes to it. All efforts are being made by the BJP to destroy or weaken our autonomous bodies one by one. Especially as Modi is behaving like a puppet in the hands of RSS, our judiciary or our secularism is facing the brunt," he added.
State Congress President D K Shivakumar, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other senior party leaders were present.
The Congress party has fought for the freedom of the country, the AICC chief said, but the BJP is claiming to be the "only saviours" of this country. They speak about patriotism and are projecting to the youth that only they are true patriots, and rest all are traitors.
Recalling the struggle by the Congress and several of its stalwarts including Mahatma Gandhi in getting freedom for India, he said, "but today the BJP, the Prime Minister and Home Minister (Amit Shah) are making all efforts to make it the puppet in their hands. So it is important for us to save our freedom and Constitution for the good future of our younger generation."
"If there is no democracy and Constitution, there will be no opportunity for any of us," he added.
Stating that B R Ambedkar on January 26, 1949 had spoken about the importance of good people implementing the Constitution, Kharge said, "what he had said then is coming true today, the people who have to implement the Constitution now are not good, so we are witnessing all that is happening in the country now."
Claiming that there is a threat to the Constitution and democracy, the Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka said inflation and unemployment is rising by the day.
"To control this, in the upcoming elections, you will have to take loyal people into the party and strengthen it. It should not be that they join today and quit tomorrow....Think before inducting someone into the party, and checking their background and ideology is important," he said, adding that the Congress is bound by its ideology.
These comments from Kharge came a day after the former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar rejoined the BJP quitting the Congress. He had joined the Congress, quitting the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls last year on not getting a BJP ticket to contest the elections.
Appealing to Congressmen to stay united to protect the Constitution and democracy, he said: "In the upcoming elections too we have to show our unity. This is my suggestion and instruction to you. I'm confident that you will follow it."
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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.
