Congress, JD-S have kidnapped MLAs, alleges BJP; Congress denies

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Panaji, Oct 9, 2010(DHNS): Eleven of the rebel Karnataka legislators staying at a five-star resort in Goa have been ’’forcefully kidnapped’’ by the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader alleged Saturday.

Speaking to reporters outside the resort, BJP leader Ramesh Katti claimed that senior Goa police officials were used to physically shift the legislators out of a hotel, with the help of hired goons. Katti, a BJP parliamentarian from Karnataka, with other BJP leaders, was trying to lure five BJP and six Independents MLAs back to the BJP fold.

"In all, thirteen MLAs, who include seven BJP MLAs and six Independents, have been kidnapped by the Congress and the JD-S using goons and police machinery," Katti said. Only two legislators, including Renuka Acharya, managed to evade the "kidnapping attempts", he added.

"Talks were going well till afternoon. Suddenly police officers came with several goons and physically lifted our MLAs. The Goa police were literally protecting the goons who were manhandling the MLAs," Katti said.

The MP also said that ministers of the Goa government, including Home Minister Ravi Naik and Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao, had been using the state government machinery to intimidate the legislators.

"The JD-S and the Congress are using huge amounts of money... Rs.25 crore is being offered to each MLA to vote for the no-confidence motion," Katti alleged. Earlier, BJP leaders claimed that most major issues raised by the dissenting Karnataka legislators had been resolved. North Goa BJP MP Shripad Naik said that things were optimistic for the party.

On Thursday, JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, who camped in the five-star resort and was holding talks with the rebels, expressed confidence that the B.S. Yeddyurappa government would not last Monday’s trust vote. "Just wait till then. You will realise. All the dissenting MLAs are together and they are united," Kumaraswamy told reporters, before heading for Bangalore Thursday afternoon. 

The JD-S leader, who reached Goa Thursday, refused to reply to questions on whether the JD-S would be supporting a Congress-led government in Karnataka in the near future.


Congress denies any hand in Karnataka crisis
New Delhi: The Congress Saturday denied it had joined hands with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) to bring down the Bharatiya Jananta Party (BJP) government in Karnataka.

Congress general secretary B.K. Hariprasad said the BJP and the JD-S had joined hands to defeat the Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections in June and the two parties have now fallen apart.

"They worked together in getting a Rajya Sabha member elected three months back... There may be some misunderstanding on a monetary question," Hariprasad told IANS. Hariprasad said the BJP was trying to deflect attention of people from "some of the major scandals" by using its present problems.

He also said that son of a minister had been arrested in a bribery case while Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa was facing allegations of denotifying land to favour his son. The BJP has accused the Congress and the JD-S for instigating the present political crisis in Karnataka, saying the two parties were misleading some of its legislators.

The Congress Friday crticised Yeddyurappa for not being able to run a smooth government. The party said the chief minister has faced repeated problems from his own legislators.

JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy Saturday claimed he had the numbers to defeat the BJP government in the confidence vote in the assembly slated for Monday.  He also denied he held any discussions with the Congress regarding government formation in case the present BJP government falls.

The 29-month-old BJP government in Karnataka was last week reduced to a minority in the 225-member assembly after 19 lawmakers, including 14 from the ruling party and five Independents, submitted a joint letter to the governor withdrawing support and expressing lack of confidence in Yeddyurappa.

 

Courtesy: Deccan Herald