Horsetrading allegations rock Karnataka politics

Agencies

Bangalore, 22 October 2010: In Karnataka, politics has slumped to a new low. Former chief minister and JDS Leader HD Kumaraswamy has now released a videotape fuelling the horsetrading controversy. The tape allegedly shows a BJP MLA offering a JDS leader a bribe of over 16 crore rupees to join the BJP. He is supposedly asking him to resign from Assembly, in exchange for BJP ticket in the next election.

 

Kumaraswamy said, “Because of this disqualification in front of the Karnataka HC, they decided to convince some Congress-JDS MLAs to resign from their post. For that they are offering huge money, upto nearly 30-50 crores. This comes just days after opposition MLAs from the Congress laid seige on Chief Minister Yeddyurappa’s house protesting the BJP’s brazen poaching of its MLAs.

 

 

The Congress has expelled the two rebel MLAs, SV Ramachandra and Narayanaswamy, while the JDS has expelled one. With this the total strength of the opposition has dipped to a mere 98 and the ruling BJP seems comfortably seated, at least for the moment.