BJP takes note of 3 legislators attending Cong dinner, to seek explanation

Three BJP legislators attended dinner hosted by the Congress, raising speculation of joining ruling party.

Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Thursday termed as a "serious matter" three of his party legislators attending a dinner hosted by the Congress after its Legislature Party meeting here and said he would seek explanation from them. State Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the legislators did not participate in any meeting, but only attended the dinner on Wednesday night, on his invitation.

Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra. (ANI)

The three are: MLAs -- S T Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar -- and MLC H Vishwanath. The three legislators, who are former Ministers, attending the dinner raised eyebrows and added to speculations that they might be contemplating joining the ruling Congress ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls. They had made no secret of their disenchantment with the BJP and its internal affairs, ever since the party lost the May Assembly polls.

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The three were among the 17 Congress-JD(S) legislators who defected to BJP in 2019, which had led to the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy-led government and paved the way for BJP to come to power. Somashekar and Hebbar were Ministers in the previous BJP government. Somashekar and Hebbar had jumped ship to BJP from Congress. Vishwanath, originally a Congressman, was in JD(S) as its state chief, when he defected to BJP in 2019.

"Morning I got information about it. I will talk to them today itself, I will discuss what their intention is....it is a serious matter, I will discuss with them today itself," Vijayendra told reporters here. Shivakumar said: "I had separately hosted a dinner, for which certain other party leaders were also invited, so they (Somashekar, Hebbar), also Vishwanath, and others, about ten people had come." Speaking to reporters here, he said: "why will they come to the Congress legislature party meeting ? They are not our party legislators. They did not come to the legislature party meeting, they had only come for dinner."

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Somashekar said he had gone to the dinner meet as the invite was extended by the Deputy Chief Minister; he had also attended the one hosted by Vijayendra. "Till 8 PM I was in the Assembly, after that I went to the hotel where our President Vijayendra had invited (me) for dinner and was there till 10 PM. I also met B S Yediyurappa (BJP veteran) and others at the dinner meet and had dinner there. After 10:30 PM the Deputy Chief Minister had invited me, not for a Congress legislature party meeting, but for dinner, I had gone for dinner. As I had already completed my dinner at Vijayendra's meet, I wished DCM and came back," he said.

Stating that he will not do anything which will embarrass the BJP, while being in the party, Somashekar said he had gone there as it was an invite from the Deputy Chief Minister. "In BJP some are targeting (me) saying that I will quit the party, in Congress some are asking as to when I will join them -- I have no such thing -- I'm in BJP, I have not embarrassed BJP and will never do it," he said, as he also ruled out any possibility of him contesting Lok Sabha polls.

BJP legislature party leader and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka said he will talk to Somashekar, as there have been certain developments in the last two-three months vis-a-vis the MLA. "Somashekar told me that he was invited for dinner and had gone there, so I don't think he has violated anything. I will talk to him. He had participated in protests organised by the party against the government yesterday. During the session as there will be various such invites, he might have gone for dinner. But, I will call him and talk to him," he said.