A day after eight Congress MLAs in Goa joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Grand Old Party on Thursday accused the ruling outfit of offering Rs 40-50 crore each to them to woo the legislators. Congress’ Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao, who arrived in Goa in view of the political developments in the coastal state, made these allegations at a press conference in Panaji.
The BJP, however, rubbished the allegations, saying the eight Congress MLAs did not join the ruling party for the benefit of money, but because they were influenced by its development agenda.
Eight Congress MLAs, including former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, joined the ruling BJP on Wednesday, in a major setback to the opposition party, which is now left with just three MLAs in the 40-member Assembly.
“Each MLA was paid Rs 40-50 crore for switching, or maybe he feared central agencies. The National Party (BJP) is doing such things everywhere. Where is all this money coming from? They are abusing power. They are sabotaging the elected representatives,” alleged Rao.
He claimed that the BJP is bringing in thousands of crores of rupees and targeting opposition MLAs through agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“Has even a single ED notice been issued to any BJP MLA? We are fighting against this kind of politics. If we don’t fight, the country will be destroyed.”
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Amit Patkar said an MLA was initially approached (by the BJP) with Rs 30 crore in cash, but he was not ready for that amount. So he was offered an additional Rs 10 crore within two hours to persuade him.
He said without naming the MLA, but since he was not ready even after that, he was given Rs 5 crore more, only after which he agreed.
During the press conference, Rao called him a “rat” at Michael Lobo, one of the MLAs who joined the BJP.
“We thought he (Lobo) was a lion, but he turned out to be a mouse. He has no leadership qualities.
“We thought he would continue in the Congress. We gave them tickets and supported them. At that time it was a right decision. We thought it was good for us to have them. But it was a mistake for us to take on such a person,” he said.
The BJP retained power in the coastal state after the state assembly elections in February this year. The ruling party had 20 MLAs in the assembly before Congress MLAs joined the BJP on Wednesday. The strength of Congress has now become three. BJP’s Goa unit president Sadanand Shet Tanawade, however, rubbished the allegations of the Congress. He said that the eight MLAs joined the party not for economic benefits but because they were influenced by the party’s development agenda.
“The central leadership of the BJP has given the nod to the induction of these eight MLAs, who have joined without any conditions,” Tanwade said. He said that the Congress MLAs felt that their party was disappearing and the BJP was working on the agenda of development.
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