Madhya Pradesh: BJP Attempts to Destabilise Congress Govt?

After allegations of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Madhya Pradesh taking eight MLAs to a hotel in Haryana in order to topple the state government, the BJP has refuted this claim.

The allegation was reiterated by Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Minister Jitu Patwari hours after Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh claimed that a senior leader of the saffron party had taken a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator to Delhi in a chartered flight. He had said that "poaching" attempts were being made by the BJP on Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh.

The opposition BJP dismissed the claim of Madhya Pradesh''s former chief minister and said his statement was aimed at ensuring his re-nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh scheduled on March 26. Terming the charge as "unfortunate", Madhya Pradesh. BJP chief V D Sharma alleged that the Congress-led dispensation in the state was a "blackmail" government. Sharma said this is Congress' "internal tussle" and the answer should come from Chief Minister Kamal Nath and senior party leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijaya Singh.

"The BJP has nothing to do with the entire episode… This is a blackmail government. This is a ragtag government," he added.

Patwari told PTI, “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 alleged.

"We are trying to bring them back. Four of them have come back also, but they have forcibly taken away tribal MLA Bisahulal Singh," he alleged.

According to media reports, Digvijay and his minister son Jaivardhan Singh had also reached the Haryana hotel to meet the MLAs.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath told PTI, "Things are under control. There is nothing like that. The MLAs will come back."

According to the Congress sources, among the eight MLAs who have been taken to Haryana, four are from the Congress, one is independent while the rest of them are from the BSP and the SP.

They said that woman BSP MLA Rambai was allegedly manhandled when Congress ministers reached the hotel to meet her.

Speaking to reporters on Monday at New Delhi, Digvijay alleged his party MLAs were being offered huge amount of money by BJP leaders as part of the saffron party''s "poaching" attempts to destabilise the Kamal Nath government.

Hitting back, Chouhan accused the Congress veteran of making false statements and engaging in sensationalism.