No temple, Coorg for Gujarat MLAs

Bengaluru: With floods in Gujarat from which they have been kept away and unable to help with relief work, 42 Congress MLAs lodged in a plush resort are also having to live down the tag that they are enjoying hospitality for free and are set for a spot of tourism, heading for the coffee estates of Kodagu, or some temple hopping. 

A large section of the Gujarat MLAs are against any tour outside Bengaluru, saying that if if they go on any tour, the BJP in Gujarat will make an issue out of this too.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior leader in the resort disclosed that some of the MLAs want to go on a tour and pay obeisance to Shravanabelagola and Tirupati temple but a majority of the MLAs are opposed to this idea. "Already we are in trouble because we are not in our respective constituencies where areas are affected by worst floods in recent times. Under such circumstances, if all of us go on a tour, then we will be branded as MLAs who went on a jolly trip in Karnataka at a time when our constituencies were inundated. It has become difficult for any one of us to come out with any tour plans for this batch (of MLAs)," the leader explained.

The leader said the legislators are tense and concerned about their future in politics as the state would head for polls in December this year. "Most of the MLAs either belong to Jain community or Vaishnavaites, and are inclined to visit both Tirupati and Shravanabelagola, having come till here. They are, however, in a fix as to whether their visit to these temples be could be misinterpreted by BJP leaders in the run-up to Assembly polls and, therefore, are not ready take a final call on these visits," the leader explained.

Meanwhile, another section planned to visit Kodagu and trek through coffee estates, but even this plan was hanging fire with most legislators opposing it.