Labour Minister Santosh Lad.
Credit: DH File Photo
Dharwad: Launching a broadside against the BJP, Labour Minister Santosh Lad on Saturday charged the saffron party with purchasing over 2,500 MLAs using money and muscle power and that the 'communal party' luring legislators from the Opposition ranks with money power was nothing new.
“The BJP is cash-rich and plays money-bag politics. The saffron party has officially declared its assets worth Rs 7,500 crore. This apart, the PM CARES Fund/Relief Fund received public contributions to the tune of Rs 30,000 during Covid pandemic. Not a single hospital has been built with the said fund,” Lad told reporters when asked about reports on BJP offering Rs 50 crore each to poach Congress legislators.
Speaking at the Hubballi-Dharwad Mahanagara & Dharwad Rural district Congress committee office-bearers meeting in Hubballi, Lad said, “The party workers should counter the BJP’s social media blitzkrieg. They should use social media platforms effectively to publicise the state government’s five guarantees.”
Congress MLC Jagadish Shettar accused the BJP of using the Enforcement Directorate and other central agencies to spread fear among the Opposition ranks.
'Unholy alliance'
“The unholy alliance of BJP-JD(S) will have little or no impact on the Congress. In fact, the Congress will benefit if it turns into a two-way fight between the BJP and Congress in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections,” the former chief minister said.