Digvijaya accuses Karnataka CM of exerting pressure on police

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday accused Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa of putting pressure on the state police to not allow him to meet rebel party MLAs from Madhya Pradesh staying here.

Singh said he was confident of taking back most of the legislators if he gets an opportunity to personally talk to them.

Accusing the BJP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of "scripting and executing" the ongoing political crisis in the central Indian state, he appealed to the rebel legislators not to take any step that will favour the J P Nadda-led party.

"I have full sympathy with the DGP Karnataka as he is under tremendous pressure, and my allegation is that the pressure is from the Chief Minister of Karnataka Yediyurappa.

I charge Yediyurappa that he has pressurised the DGP, not to allow me to meet my Congress legislators," Singh said.

Speaking to reporters here, he alleged police were not allowing him to meet, talk or send letters to MLAs, who are his voters in the Rajya Sabha polls,scheduled for March 26.

Terming the developments as "power game" that the BJP has scripted in the country, Singh said it was "conceived authored and executed" by the party under Amit Shah.

"You people call it as operation lotus, it is nothing but operation money bag. There are huge sums of money, it happened in Karnataka in the past.

I don't know how many of the 22 MLAs have taken the money, so I'm not levelling charge against them, but I have the phone recording of ex-BJP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and ex-Minister Narottam Mishra offering money to Congress MLAs," he said.

High drama had unfolded on Wednesday morning near the resort where rebel MLAs are staying as Singh staged a protest accusing the police of not allowing him to meet the legislators.

The former Madhyua Pradesh Chief Minister had accused the BJP of holding the MLAs captive, met police top brass with a request to allow him to meet MLAs, and said he would go on a "hunger strike" if not allowed.

On Thursday, Singh alleged that MP BJP leaders under investigation on charges of corruption in several scams like Vyapam and e-tendering do not want the Congress government to continue.

"The money is given (for operation) by Amit Shah, chartered flights and hotels bill are being paid BJP and contractors who have benefitted from the scam. This is the story behind the operation money bag," he said.

In a massive setback for the Congress, its prominent youth leader Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the party and in a coordinated rebellion last week 22 MLAs loyal to him resigned in Madhya Pradesh, pushing the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government to the brink of collapse.

Scindia joined the BJP on March 11.

Noting that he has had family bonding with all 22 rebel MLAs, Singh said "if they come before me, no one will go anywhere."
The DGP refused to videograph, but said he will respond to my letter after consulting legal team. Meanwhile, I have also requested him to allow another set of letters that I have written to MLAs and sent through courier to reach them."
Responding to this, Singh said "All of them (statements) in a prescribed format were released to the press, which again proves my point that they (MLAs) are being held captive and they are under duress, which has been my allegation from day one."