‘BJP approached 50 Congress MLAs and made offer of Rs 50 crore to each’: Karnataka DyCM DK Shivakumar
Earlier, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had made similar allegations against the BJP.
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The Congress party swept all the three assembly constituencies in Karnataka, namely Channapatna, Sandur and Shiggaon, which went for bypolls. (File Photo)The BJP tried to poach Congress MLAs by offering Rs 50 crore to each, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Thursday while defending CM Siddaramaiah’s recent claims about the same.
Shivakumar, who defended the CM’s remarks, said 50 Congress MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of Rs 50 crore. “Our MLAs have spoken to us about Operation Lotus. Some informed the CM about this,” he said.
At an event held near Mysuru on Wednesday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had repeated the allegations Congress made in October last year. “To remove the Siddaramaiah government, they offered Rs 50 crore each to the (Congress) MLAs. Where does this money come from?” he had said, asking whether former CMs B S Yediyurappa or Basavaraj Bommai printed money.
“This is the money of corruption. They have made crores. Using that, (they offered) Rs 50 crore. But, none of our MLAs agreed to join them this time around. That is why they have started to malign me and (are trying to) remove me from the government,” he said.
These allegations were first made by Congress MLA Ravi Ganiga in October last year who said Rs 50 crore and ministerial berth was offered to party MLAs. “The team that had toppled the JD(S)-Congress coalition government is active again now. They are going door-to-door to lure MLAs. We have information and videos of the MLAs they have approached,” Ganiga had said, adding that it was brought to the attention of the CM and the Deputy CM.
Following Siddaramaiah’s claims, state BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Thursday sought a probe by the Enforcement Directorate to investigate those ready to “spend thousands of crores to topple the government”.
He said that since Congress is in power in the state, it is “Siddaramaiah’s moral responsibility to reveal the source of the Rs 50 crore offer.”
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