Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made allegations on Saturday, asserting that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is actively pursuing 'Operation Kamala' to undermine his government. He firmly emphasized that these efforts would be in vain, as none of the Congress legislators would be swayed to switch sides.
Responding to claims by Congress MLA Ravikumar Gowda, who asserted that legislators were being offered substantial sums to align with the BJP, Siddaramaiah noted, "I haven't spoken to Ravi (Ravikumar Gowda), who has made the statement, but I do have information that the BJP is pursuing Operation Kamala to destabilize this government."
'Operation Kamala' is a term used to describe the BJP's alleged strategy of luring MLAs from other parties to secure a majority in the state assembly.
Gowda, a first-time Congress MLA from Mandya, claimed on Friday that a trio of "unemployed BJP individuals," who played a role in toppling the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government, were approaching Congress MLAs with offers of Rs 50 crore, ministerial positions, and chartered flights to meet Amit Shah. He further asserted that he possessed evidence supporting these allegations.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also criticized the BJP in response to Gowda's comments, stating that the party was vigorously pursuing Operation Kamala but would not succeed.
In contrast, the BJP rejected these allegations. BJP MLA Ashwath Narayan argued that the Congress leadership was unable to manage internal conflicts and disputes but was quick to blame the opposition.
He stated, "There is infighting within themselves. People at the helm of affairs should take care of that rather than blame the opposition party. They have a huge majority; we have 66, and JDS has 19. Are we in a position to form the government?" Nevertheless, he acknowledged the unpredictability of politics, where unexpected developments can occur.
