'Scams, kickbacks and favoritism have become order of the day' in Karnataka: BJP
New Delhi(PTI): The BJP on Friday said the Congress government in Karnataka may not last long with corruption and appeasement politics becoming the “order of the day” in the state.
This came after the Karnataka State Contractors Association (KSCA) on Thursday claimed that "unseen hands and brokers" were active in the offices of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and two other senior Cabinet Ministers, alleging that the menace of commission in the state was now more than the previous BJP government.
Responding to the allegations, the deputy chief minister on Friday suggested that if anyone has demanded commission from the contractors to pay their bills, then they should file a complaint with the Lokayukta.
“In Karnataka, corruption is at its peak in an organised manner,” BJP national spokesperson Pratyush Kanth told a press conference at party headquarters here, reacting to the development.
“You have institutionalised corruption. Only big contracts are getting their bills cleared. The medium and the small ones are struggling,” he said.
Kanth said the Congress had promised “so many things” during the state assembly polls but “scams, kickbacks and favoritism have become order of the day” under the party’s rule in the state.
While the crisis of “water and electricity bills” continues in Karnataka, the road taxes on new vehicles and bus fares have gone up, he said.
“The common people are bleeding there…This corrupt government is not going to last long. This project of Rahul Gandhi to ensure corruption all over KA is not going to have the light of the day,” he added.
Citing recent remarks reportedly made by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Economic Advisor Basavaraj Rayareddy, the BJP spokesperson said people in power, who run the state, are now saying that the state has become number one in corruption.
“Even the revenue minister of Karnataka had (earlier) gone on record to say that there is a lot of corruption in his department…This is very disturbing because Karnataka has to be the ‘khata khat model’ of Rahul Gandhi,” he said, taking a swipe at the Congress leader.
Rayareddy, who was reported to have recently said at an event that Karnataka is number one in corruption, later clarified that his remarks were misquoted and taken out of context.
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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.
