Our MLAs not for sale, says CM Siddaramaiah on Eknath Shinde’s 'operation' hint

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said Congress MLAs are not for sale after his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde hinted at an ‘operation’ to bring down the government in Karnataka.

A video of Shinde, said to be from a public meeting at Satara, has gone viral in which he hints at a Maharashtra-like political development that will see the Congress government fall in Karnataka.

“I was recently at a meeting in Karnataka where they mentioned wanting to conduct a 'Nath Operation'. When I inquired about it, they explained it as similar to what was done in Maharashtra that involved me,” Shinde said in Marathi. “There’s a circus going on in Karnataka and something will happen after the Lok Sabha polls. They suggested that my experience would be valuable. I assured them of my presence," he added.

In 2022, the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government fell following a split in Shiv Sena, with Shinde breaking out and joining hands with BJP.

Reacting to this, Siddaramaiah said Shinde is “under an illusion” and “day-dreaming”.

“At no cost can that happen to our government in Karnataka like what happened in Maharashtra... it’s not possible. That’s because they (NDA) are losing in the Parliament election,” Siddaramaiah said.

Siddaramaiah said the BJP has tried over the past year to topple the Congress government. “They’ve repeatedly failed,” he said. “The information I have is, no Congress MLA is ready to go on sale.”

The Congress-led I.N.D.I.A. alliance will win the Lok Sabha polls. “It’ll be our prime minister,” Siddaramaiah said.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress president, said Shinde himself is on a sticky wicket. “There are doubts about his government after the elections. Why did PM Modi speak about Uddhav Thackeray? That’s because Uddhav Thackery is powerful. All MLAs will return to the original Shiv Sena and NCP. Again, our government will be formed there,” he said.

The Shinde-led government in Maharashtra “will lose its strength” after the Lok Sabha polls, Shivakumar added.