Cong claims BJP buying MLAs, rushes Kharge to Bengaluru

Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of engineering defections of legislators in Karnataka to topple the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in the state, even as it rushed veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge to find an amiable solution to the emerging crisis.

“Constitution is being trampled in Karnataka. MLAs are being bought in broad daylight. We deprecate the efforts of the BJP to buy over legislators, to pressurise legislators, to bring down an elected government in Karnataka,” Congress chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters here.

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Surjewala addressed the media after an emergency meeting of senior leaders that was attended by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Mallikarjun Kharge, Jyotiraditya Scindia among others as resignations by MLAs pushed the coalition government on the brink.

“Many of the MLAs who want to leave Congress have been associated with the party for a long time. I have faith that they will stay with us and support the party,” Kharge told reporters before leaving for Bengaluru.

Kharge said he would talk to the disgruntled MLAs soon after reaching Bengaluru and make all efforts to save the coalition government.

He slammed the BJP for “terrorising” Congress and JD(S) MLAs as part of Operation Kamala to topple the coalition government.

Surjewala described the resignations of Congress and JD(S) legislators in Karnataka as “Mischievously Orchestrated Defection in India (MODI)” as the BJP was unable to see its political rivals run a coalition government in the
state.

“A new symbol of horse trading politics has emerged in the country, Mischievously Orchestrated Defections in India – MODI,” Surjewala said adding that the MLAs were offered cash and flats to
defect.

Surjewala accused the BJP of using similar tactics of defections in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal and Haryana.