Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said that there is no such rule that Congress MLAs cannot accompany Independent MLAs to Mumbai.
With the deadline for the election of candidates to Rajya Sabha fast approaching, methods and means to woo Independent MLAs and rebel MLAs are getting murkier day by day. After two TV channels exposed the greedy legislators and two candidates through a sting operation, major political parties have been trying their best to make their candidates sail through smoothly in the election.
While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the victory of Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman in the election, Congress, which has no problems to ensure the victory of Oscar Fernandes and Jairam Ramesh, has shepherded some Independent MLAs to Mumbai to prevent horse-trading by other political parties.
However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah feigned ignorance about Congress leaders taking Independent MLAs to Mumbai. "I am not aware of this. However, there is no rule that Congress MLAs should not accompany Independent MLAs to Mumbai,'' Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking to ANI, Karnataka MLA ST Somashekhar said, "There are 3 MLAs here not 14; that too to visit a temple in Mumbai. The reports are false."
Defending three Congress MLAs accompanying Independent MLAs to Mumbai, Minister for Energy D K Shivakumar, who is an aspirant for the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president post, said Congress MLAs were known for travelling frequently to other cities in the country.
"Congress doesn't need to shepherd either Independent MLAs or others. Our MLAs might have gone to Mumbai for business or personal reasons. Congress need not indulge in horse-trading,'' Shivakumar said.
Meanwhile, Ramesh Babu, spokesperson of Janata Dal (Secular) had complained to Anil Kumar Jha, Chief Electoral Officer, appealing him to postpone the elections to Rajya Sabha since ruling Congress had influenced Independent MLAs to vote in favour of its third candidate C K Ramamurthy by promising to allocate funds for developmental works in their respective constituencies.
Report sent to Central Election Commission
S Murthy, Returning Officer for the Rajya Sabha election, said that he had sent a a report as well as a CD that contains the sting operation by a private TV channel to the Central Election Commissioner. "I have gone through the CD provided by TIMES NOW correspondent and sent a report to the Chief Election Commissioner. I did not receive the CD from India Today TV channel correspondent. I came to know that the CD was handed over to the Chief Election Commissioner by the India Today TV channel at New Delhi,'' Murthy said.
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