BJP allegedly offering Rs 100 cr to Cong MLAs, claims Mandya Congress MLA

Mandya
After Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of offering Rs 50 crore to Congress lawmakers in an attempt to destabilize his government, a Congress MLA has now alleged that the BJP raised the amount to Rs 100 crore. Mandya Congress MLA Ravikumar Gowda (Ravi Ganiga) claimed that BJP is trying to lure legislators like Kittur MLA Babasaheb D Patil and Chikkamagaluru MLA H D Thammaiah, offering huge sums of money to get them to defect. Gowda said he has “documents and evidence” to prove this, but both Patil and Thammaiah denied any such offers from the BJP.
The BJP, in response, has challenged Gowda to release the documents and called for a probe into the allegations. “The BJP should stop its attempts to bring down the government by purchasing MLAs. We have evidence, and we will release it soon,” Gowda told reporters, accusing the BJP of trying to form the government using money from both the previous state government and the Centre.
Gowda further claimed that the BJP has offered money to around 50 MLAs, even promising ministerial positions for 30 of them. “They have increased the offer to Rs 100 crore, but our MLAs will not fall for it. We are committed to the Congress,” he said, adding that he has both audio and video evidence of the conversations, including details of meetings at airports and hotels.
Home Minister G Parameshwara reacted by acknowledging that such offers are being made but refrained from quoting an exact figure. He criticized the BJP for its history of “Operation Kamala” in various states. BJP leader Pralhad Joshi demanded the Congress release the documents and ensure a full investigation into the matter.