BJP offered Rs 50 cr each to 50 Congress MLAs to topple Karnataka govt: CM

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) offered Rs 50 crore each to 50 Congress MLAs in Karnataka in a bid to oust the state government but failed in its objective, chief minister Siddaramaiah has said.

This is why the BJP is now resorting to filing false cases against him, Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday in Mysuru after inaugurating public works worth Rs 470 crore in the T Narasipura Assembly constituency.

Bribing MLAs to oust government?

"To overthrow the Siddaramaiah government somehow, they (BJP) offered Rs 50 crore to 50 MLAs. Where did they get so much money from?” the Congress leader asked.

“Did former chief ministers BS Yediyurappa, Basavaraj Bommai, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka and BJP state president BY Vijayendra print the money?" He said it was all "bribe money".

Also read: MUDA case: 'Answered all questions, told truth', says Siddaramaiah after appearing before Lokayukta

CM hits out at BJP

"They have made crores of rupees. Using the money, they offered Rs 50 crore to each MLA," the chief minister 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.

The Congress has 133 MLAs in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, whereas the BJP and its ally JD(S) have 65 and 18 MLAs respectively.

Siddaramaiah claims innocence

Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of threatening the chief ministers of all the non-BJP ruled states through the Income Tax department, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.

Referring to the MUDA site allotment scam in which the Lokayukta registered a case against him, his wife Parvathi and brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Siddaramaiah said it was a "100 per cent false".

He said he did not enter politics recently but became a minister for the first time 40 years ago.

False cases against me: Siddaramaiah

He said he was twice the leader of the opposition, twice the deputy chief minister and twice the chief minister and there were no stains on him.

"Today they (BJP) have filed a false case saying that Siddaramaiah and his wife have taken 14 sites. Did Siddaramaiah do politics for 14 sites? They (opposition) think people are fool. So long as I have the blessings of people, I will not yield or get cowed," he said.

He said the BJP and JD(S) made baseless allegations, framed false cases and misused their powers by using the ED and the governor.

Also read: MUDA case: Lokayukta police may again summon Siddaramaiah

CM refers to Soren, Kejriwal

"They tried this (misusing agencies) on many people. They did it on (Jharkhand chief minister Hemant) Soren, Delhi chief minister (Arvind) Kejriwal and now they are trying on me," Siddaramaiah said.

The chief minister claimed that the BJP paid Rs 30 crore to buy 17 MLAs – three from the JD(S) and 14 from the Congress to come to power in 2019.

"They gave Rs 30 crore to each MLA. Where did they get so much money? Isn’t it corruption money? On the other hand, the Congress got 120 seats in 2013 and 136 seats in 2023," Siddaramaiah said.

BJP challenges CM

Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra challenged Siddaramaiah to disclose the source of his allegation that Rs 50 crore bribe each was offered to 50 Congress MLAs.

He said the chief minister had lost faith in his own MLAs and, hence, was levelling false allegations.

If Siddaramaiah fails to prove that money was offered to the MLAs, then people will not take him seriously anymore, he added.

CM hits back

On his part, Siddaramaiah declined to comment on Vijayendra’s statement.