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Rediff.com  » News » Whistleblower's 'sting' claims BJP offered Rs 100 cr to MP Cong MLAs

Whistleblower's 'sting' claims BJP offered Rs 100 cr to MP Cong MLAs

Source: PTI   -  Edited By: Utkarsh Mishra
March 04, 2020 18:01 IST
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A Vayapam scam whistleblower has released a purported video of a 'sting operation' involving senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narottam Mishra, and claimed that the former minister offered Rs 100 crore and ministerial posts to some Congress MLAs for toppling the Kamal Nath government.

 

IMAGE: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath leaves after a meeting with party MLAs and others, in Bhopal, on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI Photo

While the authenticity of the video has not yet been verified independently, the BJP dubbed it as 'fake and misleading', and said it has been released to tarnish Mishra's image.

 

Dr Anand Rai posted the video of the alleged sting operation, titled 'Horse Trading: BJP Exposed', on his Facebook account where he said, 'The attempt to buy public opinion failed, Rs 100 crore and the greed of the ministerial post could not buy our faith.'

Rai, who earlier blew the lid off the Vyapam scam pertaining to irregularities in exams held by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, has shared the video at a time when the Congress has accused the BJP of trying to poach its MLAs to destabilise the state government.

Claiming the video is authentic, Rai said he is ready to get the audio-visual content involving Mishra probed by any agency.

Talking to PTI, Rai claimed, "This video was shot at a room in the Madhya Pradesh Bhavan located in Chanakyapuri area of Delhi which was recorded with an spy camera during my meeting with BJP leader Narottam Mishra last year."

Without revealing names of the legislators concerned, Rai said, "There are four Congress MLAs in the state who are in touch with me. Each MLA was offered a bribe of Rs 100 crore each in four installments, besides a ministerial post. Mishra had met me in Delhi at the behest of the top leadership of his party to topple the Kamal Nath government."

The whistleblower claimed he released the video of Mishra's alleged sting operation so that voters could know the truth that efforts to buy public mandate started immediately after the formation of the Kamal Nath-led government.

However, state BJP spokesperson Umesh Sharma termed the video as 'fake and misleading'.

"The video posted by Rai on social media is fake and misleading which has been released to damage the image of former minister Narottam Mishra," he said.

Sharma alleged that Rai specialises in 'political fraud' and is a master of 'opportunism and shameless bargaining'.

Vijayvargiya denies BJP's role in MLA 'poaching' attempt

Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya onWednesday denied his party's role in the alleged horsetrading of MLAs supporting the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government, and said the ongoing political developments are a result of 'infighting' in the ruling party.

The BJP national general secretary claimed that many leaders associated with the ruling Congress in the state are in touch with the saffron party.

Asked about the Congress' allegations of horsetrading by the BJP, Vijayvargiya told reporters in Indore, "The BJP has nothing to do with this matter. In fact, it is the result of the ongoing infighting among Congress leaders."

The BJP leader claimed that whatever is currently happening in the state's politics, shows the 'frustration' of the ruling Congress MLAs and their 'anger' towards Chief Minister Kamal Nath.

Asked about the future of the Kamal Nath government, which has completed 15 months of its tenure (since its formation in December 2018), Vijayvargiya said, "Look, what happens next."

He said if the BJP wanted, it could have formed its government in the state after the last Assembly polls because it was 'short of only four to five MLAs' and people were ready to come to support it.

"But we do not believe in these things," he said.

Vijayvargiya claimed many leaders associated with the Congress are still in touch with the BJP.

"Young Congress MLAs, especially, are worried as their party leadership is not good both in Delhi and Bhopal, and in such a situation what will happen to their future?" he said.

The senior BJP leader also alleged that the ruling Congress in the state 'failed' to keep its promises made to people during the Assembly elections in 2018.

In the 230-member Assembly, the Congress has 114 MLAs, followed by the BJP-107. The simple majority mark is 116.

The Congress-led state government has the support of four Independent MLAs, two Bahujan Samaj Party legislators and one of the Samajwadi Party.

Two seats are currently vacant following the demise of a Congress and a BJP legislator.

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Source: PTI  -  Edited By: Utkarsh Mishra© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
 
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