‘Not possible in K'taka’: Siddaramaiah’s take on BJP buying Goa MLAs for ₹50 crore each

As Karnataka gears up for another round of Assembly election next year, the former chief minister said it would not be possible for the BJP to lure the Congress MLAs in Karnataka.

Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah on Monday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) for ‘uprooting democracy’ by indulging in horse-trading in several parts of the country amid reports of Congress MLAs in Goa walking over to the BJP.

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah. (PTI file image)

“By offering ₹50 crore to each MLA… they (BJP) do not believe in democracy,” Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. “ Not only in Goa, everywhere they do ‘Operation Kamala’. They will offer money, they will purchase MLAs,” the Congress leader added.

As Karnataka gears up for another round of Assembly election next year, the former chief minister said it would not be possible for the BJP to lure the Congress MLAs in Karnataka.

Another senior Congress leader and former home minister MB Patil also echoed similar sentiments and said that if anything, it will be the BJP and JD-S(Janata Dal - Secular) MLAs who will join the Congress.

“Buying MLAs for ₹40 crore… this has spoiled the system of our country. We're ashamed that such things happen in our country,” he told ANI.

The Goa unit of the Congress on Sunday removed Michael Lobo as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly alleging that he along with Digambar Kamat, another party veteran, hatched a conspiracy to engineer defections in "total coordination" with the BJP. To this, Lobo said that he was clueless about the sacking as all MLAs were together in South Goa.

The next Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in or before May 2023 to elect all 224 members of the Legislative Assembly.