PATNA: Amid speculations over JD (U) trying to engineer a split in Congress before newly formed National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government faces floor test in assembly, the Congress party high command shifted its MLAs to Hyderabad, reliable sources said on Sunday.
The newly formed NDA government, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will seek trust of vote on February 12 when the assembly’s budget session will commence.
Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh and his predecessor Madan Mohan Jha accompanied party MLAs to Hyderabad after a meeting in New Delhi.
Congress MLAs were flown to Hyderabad from New Delhi on Saturday. The MLAs are staying in a resort in Ibrahimpatnam on the outskirts of Hyderabad, sources claimed.
Singh told media persons, “New government has been formed in Bihar. We are here (Hyderabad) to congratulate them. We will meet the CM and congratulate him.”
As many as 16 Congress MLAs from Bihar reached Hyderabad as the party high command shifted them to Congress-ruled Telangana given speculations that BJP was close to engineering a spit in the party.
Singh said that the remaining three MLAs would also reach Hyderabad soon.
Congress has 19 MLAs in 243-member assembly. Sources said that Congress MLAs are expected to return to Bihar on the day of floor test only.
The move to Hyderabad is being viewed as a precautionary step to prevent any poaching of MLA by ruling alliance in the state.
Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said that Congress was free to take its MLAs to Delhi or Hyderabad. He said that on the other hand, his party believed that democracy worked with the blessings of the people.
On the other hand, deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha accused Congress of insulting its MLAs by not trusting them and intimidating them. Congress is treating its MLAs like bonded labourers, he alleged.
A similar seen was witnessed in neighboring Jharkhand when MLAs of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress were taken to Hyderabad amid fears of JMM’s poaching by BJP.
The JMM MLAs returned to Ranchi on Sunday. The floor test of the new government in Jharkhand headed by Champai Soren is likely to be held on Monday.