In resort politics, Cong. plays victim card

Parading 43 MLAs, party says, ‘We came here to save democracy in Gujarat; the ruling BJP is poaching our 22 MLAs’

Show of hands: Karnataka Power Minister D.K. Shivakumar leading Gujarat MLAs who were paraded before the media at a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Sunday.

The 43 Congress legislators from Gujarat, staying at Eagleton Golf Resort on the outskirts of the city for the past two days, were paraded before the media on Sunday evening. Party leaders claimed that they had brought the MLAs before the media to “prove” there was unity and to put an end to speculation about bickering in the party.

Desperate to keep its flock together ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat on August 8, the Congress has accused the BJP’s central leadership of misusing the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to split the party in Gujarat.

Price per MLA

“We came here to save democracy in Gujarat. The ruling BJP is poaching our 22 MLAs for ₹15 crore each. The Modi government is trying to split the Congress in Gujarat by misusing the CBI and the ED,” Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil told presspersons at the resort.

While Mr. Gohil addressed the press conference, the MLAs sat behind him along with Karntaka’s Power Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

“We are confident of the victory of our party candidate” in the crucial elections,” Mr. Gohil said. Following the exit of six party MLAs, the Gujarat Congress shifted its remaining 43 MLAs to Congress-ruled Karnataka. The move was to ensure a safe passage to the Rajya Sabha for Ahmed Patel, Congress veteran and close aide to party president Sonia Gandhi.

“I am here with my colleagues. We are living like a family. You (BJP) are talking about differences between us? Just see how we respect each other. There is no internal problem between us,” Mr. Gohil said.

Countering criticism for bringing the legislators to the resort to Bengaluru when parts of Gujarat were reeling under heavy rain and floods, Mr. Gohil said the MLAs were brought after party leaders learnt of the BJP’s attempts to poach them using “money and muscle” power.

“We are not in any panic. The BJP government, instead of focussing on providing relief to flood-affected people, is poaching our MLAs,” he alleged.

Controversy over resort

The 77-acre resort is allegedly on government land. Following a Supreme Court ruling, the Karnataka government decided to collect ₹982 crore as market value of the land from Chamundeswari Build Tech Private Ltd., promoters and developers of the resort. The State Cabinet had decided to recover the land if the promoters failed to pay the fine.

The choice of the resort has raised serious questions over the proximity between the proprietors and the Congress.

Party insiders here said that in the move to accommodate the Gujarat Congress MLAs in Bengaluru ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was “repaying his debt” to Mr. Patel.

A debt repaid?

About a month ago, Mr. Siddarmaiah said Mr. Patel was responsible for his entry into the Congress after he quit the Janata Dal(S), headed by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, in 2006. Mr Siddaramaiah said no Congress leader from Karnataka had offered him a place in the party then.