Operation Lotus - Congress, JD(S) seem to have edged out Yeddyurappa

Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Feb 8: While Congress leaders from the state, particularly Siddaramaiah, and JD(S) leaders led by chief minister, H D Kumaraswamy, have been shouting from the rooftops that BJP is trying to buy disgruntled MLAs, BJP leaders led by Yeddyurappa have been claiming that they have not been involved with any horsetrading and that the ruling coalition is vary of its disgruntled legislators changing allegiance on their own. 

B S Yeddyurappa

Although he faces the compulsion of giving final touches to the state budget, chief minister, Kumaraswamy, in a sudden press conference, released an audio said to contain conversation involving Yeddyurappa in which he had tried to persuade a JD(S) MLA to join his party. He claimed that Yeddyurappa had visited Devadurga in the guise of visiting a temple there at 1.30 pm, and that he got information from a party loyalist that Yeddyurappa was trying to sabotage the state government through Operation Lotus. He claimed that the audio clip he had released contains Yeddyuurappa in conversation with the son of Naganagouda Kandkal, JD(S) MLA of Gurumatkal constituency. He accused Yeddyurappa of of trying to get 20 MLAs to resign from their posts in tune with his old habit of executing Operation Lotus. He also accused BJP national president, Amit Shah, of engineering these defections.

Kumaraswmay stated that Yeddyurppa made an offer of Rs 25 crore to Naganagouda to leave JD(S). He said that BJP leaders now have been approaching close ones of the legislators instead of directly speaking with the MLAs.

Sharanagouda Patil claimed that Yeddyurpapa called him on Wednesday night, making an offer, and inviting him to come to Devadurga inspection bungalow. "When I went there, MLA, Shivanagouda Nayak and Hassan MLA, Preetham Gowda, were present. During the discussions, an offer of Rs 25 crore was made. They also offered to make my father a minster in case election is held. They also said that my father would not be disqualified as they had booked assembly speaker, Ramesh Kumar, by paying Rs 25 crore. I was also told by them that Amit Shah and Modi have booked Supreme Court judges," he said.

In retaliation, Yeddurappa addressed a press meet in which he termed the audio as fake. He announced that he would quit politics if the allegations levelled against him by the chief minster are proved to be true.