Amid a Congress MLA accusing the BJP of trying to topple the Karnataka government, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Sunday hit back, claiming that efforts are being made to "buy and sell" MLAs within the ruling party in the wake of speculation about a change of chief minister.
A Congress MLA has claimed that the BJP is planning to topple the government in Karnataka and has prepared a list to target 55 MLAs through central agencies. Congress MLA from Hungund Vijayanand Kashappanavar had recently alleged that the BJP has prepared a list of 55 Congress MLAs so that if they do not join the BJP, they can be raided by the ED or CBI.
A conspiracy to divert the issues: Joshi
Reacting to Vijayanand's claims, Joshi said, "Did he (Vijayanand) do anything (wrong) to get on the ED list? Those who have done wrong will come under the ED's radar, not others. Those who are right need not worry and They will not face any problem. This claim of 55 MLAs is a conspiracy to divert the issues.”
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have started horse-trading of Cong MLAs
Speaking to reporters here, he claimed that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar have started horse-trading of Congress MLAs to garner support. Joshi claimed, “Siddaramaiah had recently said that Shivakumar does not have the support of many MLAs, so both are using their money power to garner support in their favor."
The Union Minister said that the official stand of the BJP is not to go against the mandate. He said that the Congress should complete the five-year term, as it has the mandate, but due to internal strife, they are not able to do so. Therefore they are getting such statements from the MLAs that the BJP is targeting their 55 MLAs.
Prakash Kumar Pandey