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Operation Lotus fails

Yeddyurappa was also heard saying Speaker Ramesh Kumar had promised that he would accept the resignation of the rebel MLAs without questioning and that he was being paid Rs 50 crore.

Operation Lotus fails

Yeddyurappa exposed himself offering inducements to MLAs belonging to the Congress-JD(S) coalition with a view to bringing down the Kumaraswamy government. (Photo: IANS)

Of the five southern States ~ Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry ~ accounting for 130 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP can hope to win a respectable number of seats only in Karnataka which has 28 seats. Even after emerging as the single largest party in last year’s Assembly election and an obliging Governor inviting BJP Legislature Party leader BS Yeddyurappa to form the government, he failed as he could not rustle up a simple majority within the stipulated period, but he never gave up ‘operation lotus’ to overthrow the post-poll alliance government of Congress-Janata Dal(S) headed by HD Kumaraswamy. The BJP is desperate to occupy the seat of power in the State before the country goes to polls to elect the 17th Lok Sabha. In an 80-minute audio tape released by Chief Minister Kumaraswamy, Yeddyurappa exposed himself offering inducements to MLAs belonging to the Congress-JD(S) coalition with a view to bringing down the Kumaraswamy government. The snide remark of the Speaker of the Assembly, Ramesh Kumar, likening himself to a ‘rape survivor” and his acquiescence to accept resignation of the rebel MLAs without questioning confirms that he too was a part of ‘operation lotus.’ On a memorandum submitted by seven women MLAs of the ruling coalition, including Anitha Kumaraswamy, wife of the Chief Minister, the Speaker expunged his offensive remark from the Assembly proceedings. The Raichur police have registered an FIR against Yeddyurappa under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly trying to woo rebel MLAs with the promise of money and Ministership in a future BJP government.

The secretly recorded 80-minute conversation Yeddyurappa had with Sharanagouda, son of Gurmitkal MLA Naganagouda Kandkur (JD-S), in the presence of two BJP MLAs at the Yadgir Circuit House on the night on 7 February indicated that 11 rebel MLAs from the ruling side were being paid Rs 20 crore each to defect. Yeddyurappa was also heard saying Speaker Ramesh Kumar had promised that he would accept the resignation of the rebel MLAs without questioning and that he was being paid Rs 50 crore. After initial denial, Yeddyurappa admitted to his presence at Yadgir but claimed the conversation was edited. By releasing the complete recording of the conversation, Kumaraswamy put paid to Yeddyurappa’s claim. Once the plot to bring down the government was exposed, the rebel MLAs who were kept at a resort in Mumbai by the BJP returned to Bengaluru and started attending the Assembly as if nothing had happened. The BJP’s game plan was to get the rebel MLAs to resign and prevent the passage of the Finance Bill. Such an eventuality would have led to the fall of the Congress- JD(S) coalition government which by no stretch of imagination is cohesive and would have brought Karnataka under a spell of President’s rule during the crucial Lok Sabha election. Kumaraswamy has outsmarted the BJP strategists and won a reprieve for his tottering government.

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