Deputy CM Shivakumar backs Siddaramaiah’s claim of BJP’s alleged Rs 50 crore bribe attempt to Congress MLAs

Karnataka Deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday backed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s accusation that the BJP tried to bribe 50 Congress MLAs with Rs 50 crore each to topple the Congress-led government in the state.

While addressing reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar, who also serves as Congress state president, reaffirmed Siddaramaiah’s claim, alleging that the BJP initiated the bribe offer as part of an “Operation Lotus” to induce defections within Congress ranks.

“The BJP indeed lured 50 Congress MLAs with Rs 50 crore each,” Shivakumar said, defending Siddaramaiah’s earlier statement. According to Shivakumar, multiple Congress MLAs reported the alleged bribery attempts directly to the chief minister.

However, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra challenged Siddaramaiah to substantiate his claims, urging him to disclose the source of the alleged bribe offer. He questioned the chief minister’s faith in his own legislators, accusing him of fabricating the claims.

“You have your own government and your own investigative agencies. Hence, it is your moral responsibility to reveal to the people the source of the Rs 50 crore bribe charge. Otherwise, your statement will be nothing more than a childish political statement,” he said.

In response, Siddaramaiah declined to address Vijayendra’s remarks directly. “I will not comment on him. Why do you ask me about the person who came (into politics) just recently?” the Chief Minister said.

The row erupted on Wednesday when Siddaramaiah levelled allegations against BJP, stating that the party offered Rs 50 crore to 50 Congress MLAs to topple the government. “Where did they get so much money from? Did former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa, Basavaraj Bommai, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra print the money?” Siddaramaiah asked while inaugurating public works in Mysuru district.

He further pointed that none of the Congress MLAs accepted the offer, which he described as “bribe money.” The Congress currently holds 133 seats in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, while the BJP and its ally JD(S) have 65 and 18 seats, respectively.