Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): A day after senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar questioned the contribution made by Rajeev Chandrasekhar to the development of Kerala, the BJP leader on Wednesday hit back by saying he does not need the certificate of a "corrupt" politician who is out on bail.

Chandrasekhar, who is facing off against Congress' Shashi Tharoor in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, said ever since he began his poll campaign, he has stated what he will do if he wins and will follow through on that.

He further said in the next couple of days he would be releasing a vision document on bringing development and investment to the southern state.

"Once I become an MP and a minister from here, for the next five years I will work to implement that vision document," Chandrasekhar, also the Union Minister of State for Information Technology and Electronics, told a TV channel.

Regarding comments by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar against him, Chandrasekhar said everyone knows the Congress leader was "an out on bail and a corrupt politician".

"I do not require his certificate. Shashi Tharoor can have his certificate. Everyone knows what kind of person Shivakumar is, his politics and his background. So I have nothing to say to him," the BJP leader said.

Shivakumar, also the Karnataka Congress chief, was in Kerala on Tuesday and at a press conference had questioned what contribution Chandrasekhar had made to Kerala's development.

He had also said Chandrasekhar was morally obligated to resign as a minister before contesting the elections.

Shivakumar had also claimed there was no BJP or Modi wave in the country and asserted that the INDIA bloc will form the government at the Centre.

The Karnataka Congress chief had taken part in the roadshows of Tharoor and KPCC chief K Sudhakaran in Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur, respectively.

The Lok Sabha elections will be held in Kerala on April 26 and the results will be declared on June 4.

 

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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.