Somanna says Hegde lost ticket due to his ‘Changing Constitution’ statement
In Turuvekere on Monday, V Somanna, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Tumkur Lok Sabha constituency, addressed the media, shedding light on the denial of ticket to MP Anantkumar Hegde this time around. Somanna attributed Hegde's exclusion from the ticket to his repeated statements regarding the alteration of the Constitution.
Reflecting on Hegde's political career as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Uttar Kannada, Somanna remarked that the constituency had not witnessed significant development during his six-term tenure. Somanna criticized Hegde for primarily focusing on issues related to Hindutva and advocating for changes to the Constitution rather than actively engaging in developmental initiatives.
"Despite serving as an MP for approximately 28 years, Anantkumar Hegde's tenure did not yield notable developmental outcomes for the constituency," Somanna asserted. He further highlighted Hegde's conspicuous absence from public engagements following his victory in the 2019 elections and his lack of involvement in party organization activities.
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Somanna underscored that Hegde's controversial remarks regarding the alteration of the Constitution had repeatedly caused embarrassment to the BJP. These collective factors, according to Somanna, led to the party's decision to withhold the ticket from Hegde for the upcoming elections.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
