There was no operation launched by the BJP to lure Congress MLAs from the party, former Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah said.
He was speaking about the political turmoil witnessed in the state two weeks ago after six of the 80 Congress MLAs in the ruling Congress-JDS coalition reportedly went incommunicado, triggering fears of defection.
“There is no Operation Lotus at all. It is only a creation. Where is the Operation Lotus?’’ Siddaramaiah said when asked if BJP efforts to lure Congress MLAs had subsided.
“We have discussed the political situation in Karnataka. The situation is not as depicted in the media. There is no concern over the future of the coalition government,’’ he said.
Two weeks ago, senior leader D K Shivakumar said that the BJP was trying to lure Congress MLAs away to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition. Siddaramaiah, who is now leader of Congress in the state legislature, said after the coalition coordination meeting that all 80 Congress MLAs are intact — including four who were issued notices after they did not turn up for a Congress Legislature Party meeting on January 18.
The BJP has suggested that the political drama was a consequence of a fight within the Karnataka Congress between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
