Bengaluru (PTI): Posters dubbing former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy as 'current thief' surfaced on the walls near his house a day after the Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company registered a case of power theft against him.

Videos showing the posters went viral on social media.

Learning about the posters, police rushed to the spot and removed them.

The Congress in Karnataka on Tuesday accused former Chief Minister and JD(S) state chief Kumarawamy of drawing power illegally to light up his JP Nagar residence here with decorative lights during Deepavali.

The ruling party posted a video along with a statement on micro-blogging site 'X' criticising the JD(S) leader and son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

Accordingly, the BESCOM vigilance wing conducted an inspection and registered a case under Section 135 of the Indian Electricity Act.

Kumaraswamy said it was not his fault but of a private decorator who gave the connection directly from a nearby electricity pole. When he got to know he immediately got it removed and took the electricity connection from the meter board of the house, he claimed.

"The lone honest person in the world H D Kumaraswamy's JP Nagar residence was illuminated with decorative lights with illegal power connection directly from the electric pole. It is a tragedy that such poverty has struck a former CM to steal electricity!" the Congress said, taking a dig at him.

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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.