CM Siddaramaiah, Cong reiterate claim that BJP offered Rs 50 cr to party MLAs to pull down govt

BENGALURU: The ruling Congress government in Karnataka has upped the ante after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s claims that the BJP offered Rs 50 crore each to 50 Congress MLAs to destabilise the Karnataka government during the alleged ‘poaching’ attempts, dubbed as ‘Operation Kamala’.

The CM himself reiterated the allegations, “I said what they did previously. I said they tried to destabilise the government by offering Rs 50 crore, in which they couldn’t succeed”. The CM had earlier made the accusation on Wednesday in Mysuru during his address after launching development works worth 470 crores in T Narasipur.

Senior Minister H K Patil said that he backed the CM’s claims as they would have come from credible sources. “Our CM must have got credible information and the way the BJP is functioning and their leaders are talking it shows that they are making that kind of effort. You all know how they operated in Maharashtra. Keeping all this in view, the CM has said so. But there is nothing to worry about, our MLAs and party are strong and our govt is stable”, H K Patil said.

Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that the BJP had been trying to destabilise the government over six months but had failed. “They (BJP) have been trying for last six months, but they have failed. No MLA is ready to go with those people. Since they have failed, they are making allegations against the Congress party and Siddaramaiah. They will never succeed. They will be in opposition for the next 3-5 years…They (BJP) are dreaming of becoming ministers”, he said.

Minister Dr M C Sudhakar said that the BJP had been publically saying that the Congress government would not last and thus are trying everything. “See, poaching MLAs from other parties is not new to BJP. From the day Congress came to power in Karnataka, time and again BJP started saying that this govt was not going to last long. Their great ally HD Kumaraswamy and former PM Deve Gowda is also saying the same. This indicates that they (BJP) are trying all means. They (BJP) would have tried. Without proper information, the CM would not have spoken…”

Deputy CM D K Shivakumar said that the Chief Minister has got some credible information on this. Shivakumar said, “A lot of information is coming from the BJP side also. We will speak with CM and come back to you (media) on this.”

Earlier, CM Siddaramaiah had lashed out at the BJP, saying that it won’t succeed in its plans. Speaking to reporters, he said not a single MLA from the ruling Congress will switch sides.

“It is true that BJP is trying to destabilise our government, but they will not succeed in their plans. They tried earlier to topple our government and succeeded, but such ploys won’t work this time. It is clear that they can do anything, and go to any lengths to grab power. But now a single MLA from our party will go to the BJP”, Siddaramaiah said.

His remark came amid the trading of barbs between the ruling Congress in Karnataka and the BJP over alleged ‘poaching’ attempts, dubbed as ‘Operation Kamala’, in the southern state. (ANI)