Karnataka: MLA who ditched Congress for BJP now richer by Rs 185 crores, Opposition raises eyebrows

In a shocking sequence of events in Karnataka, a former Congress MLA who will be contesting the bypolls this December as a BJP candidate, MTB Nagaraj, was found to be richer by an additional Rs 185 crore in his net worth. What's more, the transactions seemed to have happened after his resignation from the Congress in July, sparking controversies in light of the opposition's accusations that the BJP in Karnataka had bribed both Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs to collapse the HD Kumaraswamy-led coalition government.

Nagaraj, who represented the Hoskote constituency for the Congress in Karnataka, has declared assets worth Rs 1,200 crore, which is Rs 185 crore more than the Rs 1,015 crore worth assets that he had declared before 2018 elections. So where did all the extra money come from? Reports suggest that around 53 deposits were made to his account since his resignation in July. While a lumpsum deposit of over Rs 1 crore was made in July itself, the rest of the money was transferred over 52 transactions across several months that followed.

If you need a jolt to the memory, MTB Nagaraj is the same MLA who had promised Karnataka Congress in July that he would not leave the grand old party, shortly before he cut short his promise to join the other rebel MLAs. He was, of course, disqualified by the then Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar under the anti-defection law; but, as recent developments stand, the Supreme Court ruled last week that while the disqualification stands, the MLAs will, however, be allowed to contest elections once again, subverting the election that had been imposed on them.

Following this verdict, Nagaraj and 15 other MLAs joined the BJP. The saffron party, too, decided to reward him by giving him an election ticket from Hoskote, the constituency he had won for the Congress in 2018, albeit to some discontent within the local BJP base. These events have brought forth some serious criticism from the opposition, which, since the fall of their coalition government, has long claimed that the BJP, under current Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, had engaged in foul play and appeasement/bribery of the MLAs to establish their governance.

Politicos had several different reactions to the BJP MLA increasing his net worth by crores.

 Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief Dinesh Gundu Rao tweeted, "A large sum of money was deposited in the account of a disqualified MLA just after the BJP came to power via Op-Kamala. Several audio/video tapes of BJP leaders offering money for the MLAs to switch have been released. Shouldn't these money transfers be probed? Why is IT/ED silent?"

A large sum of money was deposited in the account of a disqualified MLA just after BJP came to power via Op-Kamala

Several audio/video tapes of BJP leaders offering money for the MLAs to switch have been released.

Shouldn't these money transfers be probed? Why is IT/ED silent? https://t.co/Q1eNiFk4TE

— ದಿನೇಶ್ ಗುಂಡೂರಾವ್/ Dinesh Gundu Rao (@dineshgrao) November 16, 2019

BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje backed the candidate from the saffron party and said, "MTB Nagaraj is a real estate owner, he is a builder, he is a businessman. This has nothing to do with the BJP. He joined the BJP only one week back, and he cannot (make) so much money out of the BJP. This is really a joke," an NDTV report quoted her as having said.

Nagaraj himself, however, has something else to put as his defence. The same report quotes the BJP candidate, who says that he had made a deposit of a large sum of money as a loan for 'election expenses' to former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, which he is yet to receive.