Bengaluru: In view of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, nine Congress MLAs from Odisha are staying at the Wonder La Resort in Bidadi, Ramanagara. The Rajya Sabha elections are scheduled to be held on March 16. Reports suggest that the Congress party has sent its MLAs to Karnataka out of fear of cross-voting.
Addressing this matter on Friday, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar stated that he did not bring the Congress MLAs to Bengaluru; rather, they came on their own accord. Speaking to reporters at his residence in Sadashivanagar, he remarked that he was unaware of the specific reasons behind their visit.
He mentioned that the Odisha PCC President had called him to inform him that the MLAs were heading to Bengaluru. The Deputy CM suggested that their visit likely pertains to internal party matters. He added that he intends to go and meet with them.
The Deputy CM recounted that when the Odisha MLAs expressed their intention to come to Bengaluru, he simply replied that they were welcome to do so. He explained that since the group required a comfortable place to stay, he made arrangements for their accommodation. He was responding to a specific query regarding whether he had personally brought the Odisha Congress MLAs to Bengaluru.
When asked if the party had entrusted him with the task of preventing defection during the Rajya Sabha elections, he replied, “I simply do whatever the party asks me to do. This is a common practice across all states; it is nothing new. They expressed a desire to meet me, and I told them that I would come to see them after the [legislative] session concludes.”
When further asked if this move was an attempt to thwart ‘Operation Lotus,’ Deputy CM DK Shivakumar stated that he had no information regarding that specific aspect. He reiterated that the Congress MLAs from Odisha wished to come to Bengaluru because they perceived it as a safe environment. He noted that he has not yet met with them personally; when the PCC President informed him of their plans, he simply gave his assent. The Deputy CM emphasized that it is his duty to look after MLAs visiting from Odisha—a practice he has been following since the tenure of the Vilasrao Deshmukh government. D.K. Shivakumar said, “I have done this on several occasions, including during Ahmed Patel’s election.”
When asked why he is playing the role of a problem-solver for the party even while his own issues remain unresolved, he replied that time would tell. When asked whether the party had entrusted him with this responsibility, he stated that he had not been assigned any specific responsibility; rather, the PCC President had informed him about the matter, and he had welcomed them as guests.
