Digvijaya leaves for Bhopal, says no risk to MP govt
New Delhi: Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh has left for Bhopal and will meet chief minister Kamal Nath to discuss future strategy after some MLAs went missing.
Before leaving for Bhopal, Digvijaya Singh said, “there is no risk to the government as there is no need to worry. All the MLAs will come back.”
However, another senior Congress leader said that it’s Karnataka like operation ‘Kamala’ that the BJP is indulging in Madhya Pradesh and “we have to keep the flock together”.
The Congress has alleged that the BJP is offering huge money to a tune of Rs 24 to 30 crore to the MLAs.
Seven MLAs including four from the Congress are at ITC hotel in Manesar under high security. In a late night operation, one BSP rebel MLA Rama Bai is back into the Congress fold.
Around 2 a.m., Congress leaders Jitu Patwari and Digvijaya Singh’s son Jaivardhan Singh, both ministers in the Kamal Nath government, reached the luxury hotel in Haryana and brought back suspended BSP MLA Rama Bai.
Sources say contact was also established with Congress MLA Bishulal Singh, but so far he has not returned.
Digvijaya Singh said, “When we got to know about this, we tried to get the MLAs back and Rama Bai has come back while others want to come, but the BJP is trying to stop them.”
The development comes a day after Singh accused the BJP of poaching its party legislators to topple the Congress government in the state.
Singh had alleged that the MLAs were being offered huge cash in lieu of support to the BJP.
Sources said the Congress will raise the matter in Parliament also.
The Congress is apprehensive about this development as it lost its coalition government in Karnataka after more than 10 MLAs resigned and switched to the BJP.
In the 228-member Assembly in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress has 114 seats and formed the government with the help of two BSP, one Samajwadi Party and four independent legislators. Two seats are currently vacant after the death of the respective MLAs. The BJP has 107 seats.