BJP offered Rs 50 cr to 50 Cong MLAs: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday backed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his claim that the BJP had offered Rs 50 crore each to 50 Congress MLAs in an attempt to "topple" the state government.

Addressing reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar, also the Congress state president, said, "The BJP indeed lured 50 Congress MLAs with Rs 50 crore each."

He defended Siddaramaiah's statement and said the Congress MLAs were briefed about the BJP's alleged 'Operation Lotus', a term used to describe the BJP's attempts to destabilise ruling governments through horse-trading.

"Some of our MLAs informed the Chief Minister about this matter, and he, in turn, shared it with the media," Shivakumar said.

At an event in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah reiterated the claim that "none of the Congress MLAs had accepted the offer".

He also accused the BJP of filing false cases against him in a bid to "remove him and overthrow his government".

Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra challenged Siddaramaiah to disclose the source of his allegation and prove his charge.

He said the Chief Minister has lost faith in his own MLAs and, hence, was levelling false allegations.

If the Chief Minister fails to prove that Rs 50 crore each was offered to 50 Congress MLAs, people will not take him seriously anymore, Vijayendra said.

Siddaramaiah declined to comment on Vijayendra's statement.

"I will not comment on him. Why do you ask me about the person who came (into politics) just recently?" the Chief Minister said.

Vijayendra alleged that Siddaramaiah, holding a responsible position, was behaving in a manner that undermines its dignity.

"You have your own government and your own investigative agencies. Hence, it is your moral responsibility to reveal to the people the source of the Rs 50 crore bribe charge. Otherwise, your statement will be nothing more than a childish political statement," he said.

According to him, the Chief Minister's allegation was an insult to the democratic system as it depicts the MLAs as commodities for sale.

Vijayendra charged Siddaramaiah with weaving a lie to keep the MLAs in check and cover up the corruption cases "surrounding" him.

Stating that the allegation made by the Chief Minister needs to be investigated, he said the Directorate of Enforcement should urgently take it up on its own and immediately conduct a probe.