Madhya Pradesh: Congress Alleges BJP Of Poaching, Keeping MLAs In Haryana Hotel To Topple Kamal Nath Govt

The Madhya Pradesh (MP) Congress has alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempts to topple the state government and keeping eight MLAs in a Haryana hotel, News18 reported.

MP Higher Education Minister Jitu Patwari accused several BJP leaders including former chief minister (CM) Shivraj Singh Chauhan, former ministers such as Narottam Mishra, Bhupendra Singh and Rampal Singh of forcibly keeping Congress MLAs in a hotel.

“Senior BJP leaders, including former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former ministers Narottam Mishra, Bhupendra Singh and Rampal Singh among others, have forcibly taken eight MLAs to a hotel in Haryana as part of a conspiracy. The MLAs told us that they were forcibly confined by the BJP leaders,” he said.

However, he further added his party was trying to get them back, and some of them have already returned.

It was also reported senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh along with his minister son Jaivardhan Singh reached the Haryana hotel to meet their MLAs.

Digvijaya Singh said, "When we got to know about this, we tried to get back the MLAs and Ramabai has come back while others want to come, but the BJP is trying to stop the MLAs."

The development comes a day after Digvijaya Singh accused the BJP of poaching its party Legislators to topple the Congress government in the state.

Singh had alleged that the MLAs were being offered huge cash in lieu of support to the BJP.

Sources said the Congress will raise the matter in Parliament also.

The Congress is apprehensive about this developments as it lost its coalition government in Karnataka after more than 10 MLAs resigned and switched to the BJP.

In the 228-member Assembly in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress has 114 seats and formed the government with the help of two BSP, one Samajwadi Party and four independent Legislators. Two seats are currently vacant after the death of the respective MLAs. The BJP has 107 seats.