BJP resorting to blatant manipulation: Congress

In wake of the horse-trading allegations by the Congress against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the grand old party on Monday said that the saffron party is resorting to blatant manipulation of facts.

"The BJP is resorting to blatant manipulation. They are attempting to murder the parliamentary democracy. What they are attempting to do in Gujarat is going to fail. They may have been able to engineer sudden resignations, but then the total number of required votes is also coming down," Congress leader Om Prakash Mishra told ANI.

He added that the Congress is trying to take as much precaution as it is possible within its means and resources.

"We shall definitely win the seats in Gujarat as well as in West Bengal," Mishra asserted.

Earlier on Sunday, the Congress accused the BJP of buying and threatening their MLAs in Gujarat for Rs. 15 crore and paraded its 44 MLAs who are camping here.

Addressing a press conference, senior Congress MLA from Gujarat Shaktisinh Gohil said, "Ask these MLAs the way they are threatened, they chose to stand by party even when offered Rs. 15 crore."

The Congress had said that the BJP is using "money, muscle and state power" to engineer defection, after at least six of its MLAs (Member of Legislative Assembly) had resigned from the party to join the BJP.

The party on July 28 flew 44 of its MLAs to Bengaluru to stop more of them from switching over to the BJP.

In this backdrop, the Election Commission of India on Saturday sought an enquiry report from the Chief Secretary of Gujarat by Monday over the allegations made by the Congress.