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BJP offered ₹100 crore each to Congress leaders: Mandya MLA
Previously, chief minister Siddaramaiah claimed that ₹50 crore was allegedly offered to 50 Congress MLAs as part of “Operation Lotus” by the Bharatiya Janata Party
Amid row over chief minister Siddaramaiah’s claim that ₹50 crore was allegedly offered to 50 Congress MLAs as part of “Operation Lotus” by the Bharatiya Janata Party, fresh slugfest erupted on Monday after Congress’s Mandya MLA Ravi Kumar Ganiga said that he had proof of his party legislators being offered ₹100 crore each. BJP has rejected the allegations, calling them as a tactic to “divert from real issues”.
Ganiga told reporters: “It is well known fact about who made the money offer and who received it. I have the documents. At the right time, I will release these records to the media.” He accused the BJP of attempting to destabilise the Congress government using ill-gotten money from the previous administration’s scams, while also alleging that the BJP had the backing of the central government. He also claimed that JD(S) had now joined forces with the BJP in this effort.
“We have all the documents related to Operation Lotus,” he said while referring to the alleged BJP attempts to poach Congress legislators. “We have information on why BJP contacted Kittur MLA Baba Saheb Patil and Chikkamagaluru MLA Thammaiah. We know which hotels, airports, and guest houses they met at. We have audio, video, CDs, pen drives, and even iCloud records. We have all the details of where BJP contacted our MLAs and what offers were made. We will release the documents to the media very soon,” he said.
Reacting to the statement made by Ravi Kumar Ganiga, Kittur Congress MLA Babasaheb Patil said, “No BJP leader has contacted me at all. In the initial phase of the government, there was an offer from the BJP. At that time, friends from the BJP extended an invitation based on mutual trust and friendship. But now, no one has contacted me. I don’t know why Ravi Kumar Ganiga has said this. I have not received any offers.”
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“There was no offer of money made to me. Ravi Kumar Ganiga’s statement is completely false. If he has any audio or video evidence, he should release it. I suggest you ask him why he made such claims,” he said.
Thammaiah did not respond to the calls from HT for his reaction.
In response to the allegations, Union minister Pralhad Joshi dismissed the claims as attempts to divert attention from the ongoing investigations into corruption.
“Who has offered 100 crores to Congress MLAs? If you are making such serious allegations, provide the evidence. Don’t just make baseless claims,” Joshi told reporters in Hubballi, challenging Congress to release any records or documents to back up their accusations.
“If Congress has documents or evidence of such offers, they should release them. Otherwise, it’s all just talk. They are making these accusations to divert from the real issues,” he said.
Joshi also commented on the ongoing investigations into chief minister Siddaramaiah, stating, “The courts have already given a clear verdict regarding the investigations against Siddaramaiah. The Lokayukta inquiry is ongoing, and despite all the noise, no court has issued an injunction against the investigations. If you have a case, let’s see how the courts handle it. Yet, you continue to make baseless allegations against others.”
The Union minister also said that it was Siddaramaiah who had previously sent Congress MLAs to the BJP during the formation of the BJP government. “When the BJP was forming the government, it was Siddaramaiah who sent his loyal MLAs to join the BJP. He didn’t want to form a government with JD(S), so he allowed Congress MLAs to defect to the BJP. This is the same Siddaramaiah who is now pointing fingers at others,” Joshi stated, referencing the political developments of the past.
State Congress committee general secretary Manjunath Bhandari told HT: “The BJP has been doing ‘Operation Lotus’ since years. It has history of toppling seven-eight state government’s..”
“Many BJP leaders had predicted that the Congress government would fall in January which proves they making efforts to topple Siddaramaiah-led government. The BJP has history of purchasing other party MLAs , it is an open secret. Even earlier they toppled the Congress government in the state,” he added.
Speaking near Sosale village in Mysuru last Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said, “The BJP offered our MLAs a bribe of ₹50 crore. Where is this money coming from? Are they printing new currency notes? Our MLAs have not fallen for this temptation, and now they are trying to tarnish my character.”
In response to Siddaramaiah’s statement, BJP state president BY Vijayendra said, “It seems that the CM has lost faith in his own party’s MLAs. Siddaramaiah is insulting the very concept of democracy and treating his legislators as commodities to be bought and sold.”
“His statement is nothing but a desperate attempt to cover up his party’s corruption scandals and to hold on to power. Anyone with even a basic understanding of politics can see that his words are just a false narrative,” he added.
