Cong RS MP from Karnataka quits, indicates he may join BJP

Congress parliamentarian from Karnataka K C Ramamurthy on Wednesday resigned from Rajya Sabha and also from the party, indicating he might join the BJP while rubbishing claims that he quit fearing I-T raids.

His resignation as MP has been accepted by House Chairman M Venkaiah Nadu, sources said in New Delhi. Ramamurthy is likely to join the ruling BJP in coming days, party sources said.

Reacting to Ramamurthy's resignation, Karnataka Congress hit out at BJP, alleging the ruling party had made it an "industry" to engineer defection of other party members through "allurements" and "blackmailing".

Speaking to reporters in the national capital, Ramamurthy, a former IPS officer, said he has resigned from the Rajya Sabha and also from the Congress.

He said he wanted his experience to be used "properly in the path of progress and development."
Attacking the BJP, he said it "has made it an industry to lure everyone to their fold, also through blackmailing, I-T and ED raids, and by threatening."