BANGALORE: Even as the Opposition parties are preparing to make ‘Operation Lotus’ a ground to seek President’s rule in the state, the ruling BJP, not withstanding the criticism, has prepared to hit back by continuing to poach MLAs to prop up its first government in the south.
According to rumours in the state capital, the BJP has already netted four to five Opposition MLAs and would make them resign one by one starting Monday.
The prominent MLAs who are said to be ready to sacrifice their Assembly membership include Malikayya Guttedar (Afzalpur), Rajashekhar Patil (Humanabad) and Baburao Chinchanasoor (Gurumitkal), all of them from the Congress.
The fact that Guttedar has remained incommunicado for the last three days has only added to speculation. Similar rumours were also doing the rounds regarding former minister Satish Jarkiholi. The Yamakanamardi MLA, however, flatly denied reports and said he was never approached by any one had no plans to quit the Congress.
Meanwhile, the Congress and the JD(S) have intensified their fight against the BJP Government. While the Congress held a day-long dharna on Friday demanding the Centre’s intervention and dismissal of the government for ‘indulging in horse trading,’ the JD(S) knocked the doors of the Raj Bhavan seeking dissolution of the Assembly.
The JD(S) has also produced copies of the CD purportedly showing BJP MLA Suresh Gowda luring JD(S) MLA SR Srinivas by offering huge sums of money and a ministerial berth, to substantiate its demand. Emerging out of the Raj Bhavan, JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy launched a scathing attack on the BJP for questioning the authenticity of the CD. “If they have guts, let them order a probe into the authenticity of the CD,” he dared.
Yeddyurappa, however, rejected the demand stating that there was no need for any inquiry as everybody knew who was behind it. Hitting back at Kumaraswamy for accusing the BJP of poaching Opposition party MLAs, Yeddyurappa said there was no need for the BJP to take the advice or lessons from those who took 11 BJP MLAs to Chennai and Goa and kept them in captivity along with Goa ministers.
On the other hand, JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, who had been maintaining a stoic silence despite hectic political developments in the state, termed the BJP government the most corrupt in the country and asked the Centre to dismiss it.
He accused the Congress and JD(S) of having a tacit understanding for each other’s survival and that was the reason why Yeddyurappa got a second chance to prove his majority in the House.