Siddaramaiah claims Congress MLAs were offered Rs 50 crore each to topple his govt- The Week

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has stirred a political storm in the state by alleging that the BJP had attempted to conduct ‘Operation Kamala’ once again by offering a bribe of Rs 50 crore each to 50 Congress legislators to topple his government.

Siddaramaiah, who is facing a Lokayukta probe in the MUDA land allotment case, said the BJP was trying to come up with “false” cases after they failed to lure the ruling party legislators.

“The BJP had offered to pay Rs 50 crore each to 50 MLAs to topple my government. But the plan had fallen flat as our legislators did not take the bait. Now, where did the BJP get so much money for bribing? Did Yediyurappa, Bommai, Ashok or Vijayendra print the currency? It is all illegal money (kickbacks). After they (the BJP) failed to woo our MLAs, they decided to tarnish my image by trying to fix me in false cases (like MUDA),” claimed Siddaramaiah while addressing a meeting in Mysuru, on Wednesday.

The chief minister’s remarks gain significance in Karnataka politics owing to the past precedence. In 2019, the JD(S)-Congress coalition government, led by H.D. Kumaraswamy, with a combined strength of 117 members in the 224-member assembly, had collapsed following mass defections (17 MLAs) allegedly engineered by the saffron party and the BJP government led by Yediyurappa was installed as the house strength had reduced to 101 and the BJP was the single largest party with 104 seats.

This time, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state has a thumping majority with 137 seats. While the Congress leaders accuse the BJP of attempting another coup, BJP leaders blamed Siddaramaiah’s “lack of confidence” in his legislators for making the allegation.

Labour Minister Santosh Lad claimed he too had information about the BJP trying to poach a few Congress legislators. “The BJP has toppled the governments in Goa, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. They are trying to do it in Karnataka again. I am sure CM has more information about it than me,” said Lad.

State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra slammed the chief minister for making a “baseless allegation” and dared him to reveal the names of people who were offering the bribe and the names of MLAs who got such an offer. “You (Siddaramaiah) seem to have lost faith in your legislators and hence making baseless allegations that your MLAs are getting sold for Rs 50 crore. This is an insult to democracy and also the legislators, as they are being described as commodities. It is also a serious offence that calls for an ED investigation,” said Vijayendra, claiming that it was only Siddaramaiah’s bid to keep his MLAs in his control and to divert people’s attention away from the numerous scams engulfing him.

READ MORE: Karnataka: Siddaramaiah alleges Rs 2,000 crore graft in purchase of medical equipment during Covid

“As you occupy a responsible position as the chief minister, it is your moral duty to expose the source of such inducement offered to your MLAs. You have the investigating agencies under you to conduct the probe. So, stop making politically immature statements and undermine the dignity of your post,” said Vijayendra, who also mocked Siddaramaiah for claiming that the people of Karnataka would never spare the persons who “messed with” him.

Siddaramaiah, during his speech, had claimed that the BJP was “envious” of him as the guarantee schemes were a huge success. “The poor, farmers, women and labourers, SC/ST and minorities have got justice through our guarantee schemes. And the BJP is unable to digest this and wants to remove me by making up false cases against me. But the people of Karnataka will not spare anybody who dares to ‘touch’ (mess with) me,” said Siddaramaiah.

Speculations are rife that the CM anticipates he would be asked to step down by the party high command even as the investigations into the MUDA and other scams gather steam. To checkmate his detractors, the chief minister is sending a strong message that the Congress government is under threat and removing a strong leader like him would lead to the BJP and JD(S) gaining an upper hand and may try to poach Congress legislators.

Ironically, the coalition government in 2019 collapsed after legislators were unhappy over the severe fund crunch in the government. This time again, the ruling party leaders have a similar grouse—paucity of funds for development work owing to the guarantee schemes which cost the exchequer Rs 52,000 crore annually.

History of ‘Operation Lotus’

In 2006, the state for the first time, witnessed ‘Operation Kamala’ or ‘Operation Lotus’ –poaching of MLAs from rival parties by alleged use of money power and manipulation by the BJP.

The JD(S), which was in a coalition with the Congress (Dharam Singh government), broke away to foster a 20:20 power-sharing coalition with the BJP. While Kumaraswamy became the chief minister for the first time, Yeddyurappa was his deputy. But after 20 months, JD(S) withdrew support and President’s rule was imposed in the state.

Once again in 2008, the BJP won only 110 seats, three short of a majority, and managed to get 16-20 MLAs from Congress and JD(S) to cross over and formed the first BJP (Yediyurappa) government in South India. The BJP was accused of engineering the defections by offering huge bribes, promising ministerial posts, and other incentives.