HUBBALLI: Responding to Congress legislator Ravikumar Ganiga’s claims that the BJP was trying to lure his party’s MLAs to jump ship by offering them a bribe of Rs 100 crore, Union minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday told Ganiga to make public any pieces of evidence that he has on the matter. However, if his claims were unfounded, Joshi warned that action would be initiated against him.
Speaking to the media here on Monday, Joshi censured the Congress MLAs not to simply speak in the air and make baseless allegations. “Firstly, provide evidence on any BJP leaders who have made such offers. Whether it’s Rs 100 crore or Rs 500 crore, if there is any evidence, release it. No one is stopping you. Ganiga has been talking about it since the beginning, but why hasn’t he released any evidence yet?” he questioned.
Joshi stated that the Centre would take action against any Congress leader who has been discussing the issue of “offers of Rs 50 crore, Rs 100 crore, or Rs 500 crore”. He also alleged that during the formation of the BJP government in the state, it was then senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah himself who had sent Congress MLAs to join the BJP. “Siddaramaiah didn’t like the idea of forming a government with the JDS, so he stepped forward and sent some Congress MLAs to the BJP,” he claimed.
“In the past, ‘Operation Kamala’ was conducted due to the unstable political situation in the state. But now the situation is different. The people have given Congress a clear mandate. So why should we interfere?” Joshi said.
The BJP leader emphasised that the party has clearly stated its intent to sit in the Opposition for the rest of the tenure. The party leadership has also instructed its state unit to focus on constructive work for the public good, while in Opposition, he added.
Accusing the Congress of engaging in a conspiracy to cover up its own misdeeds, Joshi said the court has given a clear ruling for an investigation against CM Siddaramaiah, who is entangled in corruption cases. Despite the Lokayukta investigation under way, Congress leaders were making these baseless statements to divert attention from real issues, he charged.