No MLA will quit Congress and join BJP: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Asserting that the Congress-JD(S) coalition government will be stable, coordination committee chief and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Friday said no MLA would leave the grand old party and go with the BJP.

"BJP people are lying; no MLA will go with them.... the government that is there will be stable," Siddaramaiah told reporters in Kalburgi district.

Alleging that Yeddyurappa has "lust" for power, hesaid "he had to resign in three days as Chief Minister. he should be ashamed...but still he is claiming repeatedly that hewill become Chief Minister, 20 MLAs will come. From where willthey come?"

"No one (is disgruntled in Congress), disgruntled arein the BJP," the CLP leader said and asked whether the BJP would 'buy" their MLAs and where they would get the money for that. questioned, "will BJP buy our MLAs? From where are they getting the money?

Siddaramaiah's response came following Yeddyurappa's statement that the longevity of the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state would depend on the stand taken by about 20 "disgruntled" Congress legislators after the Lok Sabha poll results on May 23.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao too hit out at Yeddyurappa and said no one would leave the party. He said, "Does his (Yeddyurappa) word have any value? Has he been able to do what he has been claiming? Every time he keeps uttering that the government will fall, we have so many people...

We have also heard his tapes, promising Rs 20crore to lure MLAs, where will he get the money from, who isgiving?"

Rao was referring to the controversial audio tapes, which came out in February this year, showing Yeddyurappa in a purported conversation to lure a JD(S) MLA in his alleged attempt to topple the Congress-JDS government.

The government has said it will get the audio clip investigated by a Special Investigation Team.

"20 Legislators or anybody else, no one will go. Itis also not possible. After the May 23 results, government will become much stronger and continue," he added.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.