Organised, brutal riots worse than Gujarat inevitable in West Bengal, says actor Prakash Belawadi
Deletes post later
Bengaluru: Renowned actor Prakash Belawadi on Tuesday courted controversy after he said in a Facebook post that a large-scale Hindu-Muslim riot worse than the Gujarat riots of 2002 was inevitable in West Bengal. He also added that it was already too late to stop it from happening.
In the post, Prakash recalled an incident from 2002 when the Gujarat riots took place and added “On that morning of 27 February, when 59 pilgrims were burnt alive in a train at Godhra, a liberal friend, with whom I am no longer friends, called me from Ahmedabad: That will teach these Sanghis a lesson, he said or something to that effect. I said the retaliation would be swift and terrible. It was…”
Stating that the Gujarat riots were practically one-sided given Muslims made up only 8% of Gujarat’s population, he said it will be different in West Bengal as its 30% population is Muslim. He went on to add that it will not be a factor to stop the riot from happening and that it will come “in the fullness of time”.
“Of course, that riot was practically one-sided since Muslims made up only 8% of the population in Gujarat. In West Bengal, it’s different: the Muslim population is over 30%. The retaliation won’t be swift. But make no mistake, it will come in the fullness of time, a Hindu-Muslim riot. When it does, it will be tragic, brutal, and organized. The state govt which seems cool about it now, and the liberals who seem to think the Sanghis deserve it, will have a reckoning” he said while adding “It’s already too late to stop it. It is sickeningly inevitable”.
The post anguished users who were quick to object to it prompting Prakash to delete the post. “Now that the argument is going ad hominem, I’m going off FB for a few months. Bye,” he wrote before deleting the post.
When Vartha Bharati contacted Prakash on the matter, the actor disconnected the calls saying he will not comment on the issue.
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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.
