Reports claim Siddaramaiah "gifted" Benz car, Congress denies
Bengaluru, Jan 20: Amid the political turbulence in Karnataka, former chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah found himself in a fresh controversy after media reports emerged that he had been "gifted" a Mercedes-Benz car by his party legislator.
The car claimed to be worth over Rs 1.5 crore was allegedly "gifted" by Byrathi Suresh, an agriculturist-cum industrialist and a realtor who is one of the richest politicians in Karnataka.
Suresh had declared assets of Rs 416 crore in the affidavit filed by him for the 2017 May assembly polls.
Latching on to the reports, the state BJP questioned Siddaramaiah and accused him of having "made enough and more money" during his "10 per cent government".
The 10 per cent barb refers to alleged commission that the party claimed used to be paid during Siddaramaiah's chief ministership.
"Congress MLA Byrathi Suresh gifts Sri @siddaramaiah a Mercedes-Benz car worth 1.5 crore.Wears spectacle costing 2 Lakh. Wore 80 lakh worth hublot watch. Siddaramaiah vere looks like you have made enough & more money during your 10% govt, " the state BJP tweeted.
Refuting media reports, Congress leader and minister D K Shivakumar said Siddaramaiah has not been gifted the car by Suresh, but given for his traveling purposes.
"There is no gift or anything. We sometimes take our friends' vehicle to travel. There is no issue. Is there any record that he has received a gift or anything? Nothing, no record," he said.
In June 2018 also, Siddaramaiah was at the vortex of controversy after the then minister K J George allegedly gifted him Toyota Land Cruiser with fuel coupons for a year.
George, then, had deflected the charges by saying that he had lent the vehicle as Siddaramaiah was uncomfortable traveling long distances in his Innova car.
Earlier in February 2016, Siddaramaiah had been mired in controversy over a Rs 70 lakh worth diamond-studded Hublot watch gifted to him.
Siddaramaiah later handed over the watch to the then assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa amid an uproar in the House, declaring it a state asset.
Both opposition BJP and JDS members had staged a dharna in the well of the House then.
Countering the allegations, Siddaramaiah had said the pre-owned "HUBLOT BIG BANG-301-M" wrist watch was presented to him by his Dubai-based NRI friend Dr Girish Chandra Varma in July last at Bengaluru as a personal gift.
Siddaramaiah also said Varma had no official dealings with Government of Karnataka or its organisations.
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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.
