War of words breaks out between Kumarasamy, Karnataka Cong
Bengaluru: JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday stepped up his attack on the Congress, saying it bowed before his party and made him chief minister of the coalition government in Karnataka and did "back-seat driving" as the two erstwhile allies were locked in a war of words.
After the state Congress unit took to twitter and slammed him over his criticism of the party's nation-wide "Save Democracy campaign", Kumaraswamy tweeted back saying the party's stalwarts, "unable to question him directly", have attacked him through the social media and ran away.
A day after the former chief minister criticized the nation-wide "Save Democracy" campaign against the BJP in the backdrop of the Rajasthan political crisis, the state Congress asked whether its 'morality' suited him when he shared power in the state.
In a series of tweets, it also wondered whether he had become "so innocent" that he did not know the difference between MLAs voluntarily joining a ruling party and "Operation Lotus" to pull down elected governments.
"Congress' morality was good for you (Kumaraswamy) when you allied with the party, sat on the Chief Minister's seat, and ran the administration. Is the question of morality arising when there is no power? What is the morality of your party that has become invisible and irrelevant when the state is in difficulty," Congress tweeted.
On Tuesday, Kumaraswamy had alleged "Congress is another name for horse-trading" and it was an expert in dividing political parties, purchasing MLAs and in fact, the term horse trading in politics came to be in use because of it.
For the sake of one Rajya Sabha seat, the party's government in Karnataka had purchased eight JD(S) MLAs in 2016, he charged.
On Wednesday, he tweeted: "Despite us declining, the Congress high command and state leaders bowing before JD(S) made me sit on the Chief Minister's chair. Then you (Congress) did back seat driving by putting pressure. Where was your morality then?" he asked.
Stating that he had to follow "Raja Dharma" by waiving farmers' loan, the JD(S) leader claimed, that's the reason he followed "Chanakya Neeti" in the interest of the people despite knowing Congress' game plan then.
"There was no personal gains from it."
He also alleged that leaders in Congress had halted the chances of veteran party leader Mallikarjun Kharge from becoming the Chief Minister after 2018 assembly polls, pointing out that JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda had suggested Kharge's name to that party's leaders.
Hitting back at Congress' jibe of JD(S) being invisible and irrelevant, Kumaraswamy asked, "in how many states Congress is relevant?.... is there any leader who can respond to this?"
Rejecting Congress' defence that JD(S) MLAs had voluntarily joined it after cross-voting in 2016 Rajya Sabha polls, he said, "there was no major difference in admitting other party MLAs in the disguise of 'voluntarily joining' and BJP's operations to bring down any government."
This is the fresh exchange of barbs between Congress and JD(S) after they parted ways following the collapse of the coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy in July last year.
Leaders of both parties have earlier too indulged in verbal spat holding each other responsible for the fall of the coalition government and helping BJP to come to power in the state.
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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.
