Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Michael Lobo on Sunday called for a safety audit of all clubs in Goa following a fire in Arpora that killed 25 people, including three women and 20 men.
Goa BJP MLA Michael Lobo alleges that the license for the nightclub where 25 people died in a fire was issued without proper documentation by the local panchayat. He emphasizes the need for safety measures in Goa's tourist destinations.
Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte has called for police action and accountability after videos showing alleged drug dealing and solicitation at Calangute beach went viral. He emphasised the need to protect Goa's image as a safe and preferred tourist destination.
BJP MLA Michael Lobo claims that the sale of idli-sambar in beach shacks is contributing to a decline in international tourists visiting Goa. He attributes the issue to the influx of businessmen from other places, including Bengaluru, who are operating food stalls in the shacks. Lobo also cites other factors impacting tourism, such as the war in Ukraine, the lack of younger foreign tourists, and conflict between cab aggregators and local taxi operators.
A fire at a nightclub in North Goa killed 23 people, many of whom were trapped in the kitchen while trying to escape. Fire safety violations are suspected.
With scrutiny and practice scheduled for November 29, the main races will unfold on November 30, promising a day of speed, skill and spectacle.
A preliminary inquiry suggests electric firecrackers caused a devastating nightclub fire in Goa, resulting in 25 deaths. The incident has exposed illegalities and lax enforcement of safety rules.
The Congress on Sunday removed Michael Lobo from the post of Leader of Opposition in Goa legislative assembly, accusing him and former chief minister Digambar Kamat of "conspiring" against the party and "hobnobbing with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to ensure a split".
According to sources, the Goa Congress unit has not held a single meeting after it failed to reach the majority mark of 21 in the 40-member assembly.
The Congress has accused the two MLAs of hobnobbing with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to bring about a split in the opposition party.
'These beach shacks were meant to protect the employment of local Goans who in turn would showcase Goan cuisine and culture on the beaches of Goa.'
The discussions on the new Goa CM came to a halt after Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Sudin Dhavalikar wanted to be the chief minister.
'Since we defeated their evil designs on July 10, their poaching approach became more aggressive with using blackmail and money power as tools to finish off the political opposition in Goa.'
A Goa Bharatiya Janata Party legislator has been caught on camera allegedly leading a group of people that demolished two structures in Calangute-Baga coastal belt, claiming they housed dance bars and sex workers.
Five Goa Congress MLAs, who went incommunicado a day before, attended the state assembly proceedings on the first day of the monsoon session on Monday, and claimed there was 'nothing wrong' in the opposition party.
'Corruption overshadowed Modi's roadshows.' 'As the BJP did not deliver any of their promises, people stopped believing him.'
Even as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was defeated in the Karnataka assembly elections, the party retained its traditional stronghold in the coastal region by securing victories in 11 of the 13 constituencies in the twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
'I love the country and the people so very much. My children grew up watching Om Shanti Om.'
Goa minister and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Michael Lobo on Monday resigned from the Pramod Sawant-led ministry and also as member of the legislative assembly, ahead of the state polls scheduled next month.
While none of the five 'rebel' MLAs were available for comments, sources in the BJP claimed the legislators were in touch with them.
'There is no hard evidence, but our MLAs have been getting calls from industrialists and mining mafia in the state to quit the Congress and join the BJP.'
The Goa government will install the life-size statue of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who passed away on Wednesday, in the coastal belt of North district by early next year, a senior minister said on Wednesday.
Left with just three MLAs, the Congress does not have the required one tenth of the legislative strength in the 40-member House to claim the Cabinet minister-level post.
A Bharatiya Janata Party legislator from Goa has threatened to go on a hunger strike if a Playboy nightclub is allowed to open in his state, claiming that it would promote prostitution in the tourist hub. Michael Lobo is opposing a nightclub proposed on Candolim beach -- the first of dozens of Playboy outlets that are being planned across the country.
Aditi Phadnis picks five key seats in the three states where assembly elections are being held today.
His remarks come amid BJP ministers and legislators quitting the party in UP ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in the state.
'The BJP has proved that it is a threat to all its allies'
Sawant took the oath in Konkani language.
The opposition party termed the defection by eight out of its 11 MLAs in Goa only seven months after the assembly elections as the "height of betrayal and shamelessness."
A senior state BJP leader had said earlier in the day that Sawant would induct BJP MLA and Deputy Speaker of Goa Assembly Michael Lobo, and three of the ten MLAs who have switched over from the Congress.
He said his supporters were apprehensive that joining TMC would invite the "outside party" to Goa which will split votes.
The Association of Democratic Reforms said Goa has set a unique record, which is "unparalleled" in the history of Indian democracy.
Sudin Dhavalikar hit back, terming the development as "dacoity by chowkidars".
'Why are the people who stood with the Congress through thick and thin, why are they leaving?'
Michael Lobo, who resigned as deputy speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, and three of the 10 MLAs who joined the BJP -- Chandrakant Kavlekar, Jeniffer Monserratte, Philip Neri Rodrigues -- were sworn in as new ministers.
The flight had been suspended since February this year as it was not profitable.
'Parrikar died twice...once on March 17 physically while today it is the death of his political legacy'
Besides 11 members from BJP, three each from the Goa Forward Party, the MGP and independents supported Sawant during the head count conducted in the House.
A district court in Mapusa town near Panaji on Monday granted anticipatory bail to FabIndia's Candolim store manager Chaitrali Sawant in connection with the voyeurism case.
As per the power-sharing arrangement, Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Sudin Dhavalikar will be the deputy chief ministers.
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