BJP challenges CM Siddaramaiah to prove ₹50 crore bribe allegation

A file photo of BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra on November 14, 2024, challenged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to disclose the source of his allegation that ₹50 crore bribe each was offered to 50 Congress MLAs to topple the government 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 ₹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.

At an event in Mysuru on November 13, 2024, Mr. Siddaramaiah had alleged that the opposition BJP had offered ₹50 crore each to 50 Congress MLAs to remove his government. He reiterated the claim that “none of the Congress MLAs had accepted the offer”, due to which the BJP is now resorting to filing false cases against him.

CM challenged to reveal his source

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 ₹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.

Shivakumar backs Siddaramaiah’s

D.K. Shivakumar 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.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar backed the CM’s claim. Addressing reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar, who is also the KPCC president, said, “The BJP indeed lured 50 Congress MLAs with Rs 50 crore each.” He 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.

Siddaramaiah had claimed at the Mysuru event that it was all “bribe money”. “They have made crores of rupees. Using the money, they offered ₹50 crore to each MLA,” the CM alleged. “But none of our MLAs agreed for it this time. That’s why they have started a campaign to remove this government somehow. That’s why they are doing it (filing false cases),” Siddaramaiah said.

This is not the first time the CM has levelled these charges. Earlier, in March 2024, when six Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh turned rebels and cross-voted in favour of the BJP during the Rajya Sabha elections, Mr. Siddaramaiah had claimed that the BJP was trying to lure Congress MLAs in Karnataka as well by offering as much as ₹50 crore to each of them.