Sitharaman spars with Karnataka minister
Kodagu, Aug 24 : On a visit to the flood-affected areas in the district, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday sparred with Karnataka district-in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh after he asked her to end a press conference they were jointly addressing.
The episode took place after Mahesh asked Sitharaman to end the press conference citing lack of time and she retorted saying that she was following "minute-by-minute" the itinerary prepared by the district administration and she cannot be blamed for the delay.
"And the mic is on na... so record whatever you want," she is heard telling the media.
Sitharaman then asked a woman official to stop speaking and said "let the in-charge minister speak".
"Minute to minute programme, Minister... I am following that and if officials were important then my family is also very important. A central minister is following the minister in-charge. Unbelievable," she said.
You have the list of minute to minute to follow. If you had difference of opinion then you should have sorted this out before and not put me in an embarassing moment. I am doing as per your schedule," she is heard saying.
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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.
