“BJP trying to destabilise our govt, but will not succeed”: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Claiming that a plan was afoot to topple the Congress government, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday lashed out at the BJP, saying that it won’t succeed in its plans.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the Karnataka Chief Minister said not a single MLA from the ruling Congress will switch sides.

“It is true that BJP is trying to destabilise our government, but they will not succeed in their plans. They tried earlier to topple our government and succeeded, but such ploys won’t work this time. It is clear that they can do anything, and go to any lengths to grab power. But now a single MLA from our party will go to the BJP,” Siddaramaiah said.

His remark came amid the trading of barbs between the ruling Congress in Karnataka and the BJP over alleged ‘poaching’ attempts, dubbed as ‘Operation Kamala’, in the southern state.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has, meanwhile, asked party MLAs to refrain from giving random public statements saying anyone falling foul of the dictate will be served a notice.

Earlier, on Saturday, BJP leader Aswath Narayan weighed in on the alleged poaching row, saying, “There is no need for us to do the operation. There is an operation underway within the Congress, as many in the party are jockeying for the post of CM.”

Responding to his statement, Shivakumar said there are ongoing attempts to poach Congress members, but such ploys won’t succeed.

“We know there is a big conspiracy afoot (to topple the Congress government) but such ploys won’t succeed. We are aware of everything. Some influential people are trying to prise away our MLAs but nothing will come of their ploys. I have instructed party leaders not to give public statements on party affairs. Anyone giving such statements will be served notice,” Shivakumar said.