Karnataka Congress MLA Alleges BJP Offering Rs 100 Cr to Switch Sides
BENGALURU: In a startling revelation by Mandya Congress MLA Ravikumar Gowda on Sunday alleged his party MLAs are being lured by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through “brokers” to switch their loyalties to as many as 50 Congress MLA by offering each one of them Rs 100 crore. Earlier, the offer reportedly from BJP to Congress MLAs was Rs 50 crore each but now it has been doubled.
However, he exuded confidence in his MLAs that none will switch their loyalties and observed “BJP will not succeed in their efforts to dislodge the Congress led State Government having 136 MLAs.”
It may be recalled here BJP succeeded in bringing down H.D. Kumaraswamy led the Janata Dal Secular-Congress coalition government in 2019 through poaching of MLAs belonging to the JDS and Congress party.
“A gang comprising BJP leader Santosh, Union Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Prahald Joshi and Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje are behind the efforts to lure Congress MLAs,” he alleged.
He is one among several Congress MLAs to have received offers from “brokers” having allegiance with BJP leaders and stated he declined the offer before issuing a warning to a “broker” of getting him trapped by sleuths of Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“There have been constant attempts by the BJP leaders to purchase Congress MLAs and each day one or the other MLAs of the Congress party get a phone call from “brokers” of BJP,” he alleged and stated “Congress leaders will get ‘brokers’ trapped through video recording in coming days. He claimed to have audio recordings on offers from the “brokers” to switch their loyalties and the recordings will be released in coming days.
Ravikumar Gowda said the Congress government in Karnataka is “solid as a rock.”
Meanwhile, former BJP MLA and State BJP general secretary P. Rajeev lodged a police complaint in Hubbali against Ravikumar Gowda over his allegations against the BJP and termed the allegations against BJP aimed at ‘tarnishing’ the image of BJP. Besides, the allegations made by Congress MLA attract legal action under Indian Penal Code (IPC).