Cong MLA accuses BJP of 'poaching' legislators

Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashappanavar on Sunday accused the BJP of poaching his party legislators and attempting to destabilise the state government by using central agencies to target 55 Congress legislators, including him.

- Arun Dev

Kashappanavar claimed that the BJP was pressuring the MLAs with threats of Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Income Tax (IT) action.

“I am not afraid of BJP’s threats. BJP has never come to power with a clear majority. They have always come to power through the backdoor or by forming coalition governments. People know that the BJP cannot come to power independently,” he told reporters in Hungund.

His statement came in response to Union minister Pralhad Joshi’s recent claim that the Congress is “buying” BJP MLAs.

Accusing the BJP of using intimidation to break the Congress, Kashappanavar said, “BJP is trying to poach MLAs and form the government by hook or crook. They have prepared a list of 55 Congress MLAs and are intimidating them using CBI and ED raids. If a Congress MLA switches to BJP, the agencies stop targeting them. That's how the BJP operates.”

Kashappanavar claimed that he and other legislators have been approached by BJP intermediaries. “BJP has already sent their agents to intimidate us, saying they will expose us. But I am ready to face any kind of raid, be it by the ED, IT, or CBI,” he said.

He also pointed to the recent ED and IT raids at the residences of Congress leaders, including MLA Bharat Reddy, former minister B Nagendra, and MP E Tukaram. “All these raids are politically motivated and part of BJP’s malicious strategy,” he said.