Our MLAs in Karnataka were offered Rs 200 cr: Congress

New Delhi: In a fresh attack on the BJP over alleged horse trading to topple the H.D. Kumaraswamy government in Karnataka, the Congress on Saturday said that the BJP state unit president and former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had offered around Rs 200 crore to 18 of its MLAs in an attempt to destabilise the ruling coalition in the state.

Releasing an audio tape at a press conference here, Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka K.C. Venugopal and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that Mr Yeddyurappa had offered Rs 10 crore to each MLA and Rs 50 crore to the Speaker.

Mr Surjewala and Mr Venugopal also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah were involved in the attempts to topple the JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka. The Congress leaders also said that the party would raise the issue in Parliament next week.

“The state government is being destabilised by the national government,” Mr Venugopal said. Mr Surjewala added that since Mr Yedd-yurappa was heard saying in the audio that Mr Amit Shah will manage judges, the Chief Justice of India should take suo motu cognisance of attempts to defame the judiciary.

“He (Mr Yedyurappa) is also offering election expenses to MLAs after they resign. They are offering Rs 50 crore to the Speaker for not disqualifying those MLAs. The clippings are referring to the names of Mr Amit Shah and Mr Narendra Modi for managing here and through Mr Yeddyurappa there,” Mr Venugopal added.

The purported audio tape was made public by Mr Kumaraswamy at a hurriedly called press conference in Bengaluru hours before he presented the Budget in the state Assembly on Friday. Mr Yeddyurappa has dismissed the audio clips as “fake” and the allegations as “a concocted story”.