Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday claimed that he can prevent the fall of the Kamal Nath government if he is given access to the rebel MLAs who are lodged in a hotel here.
"Make me meet these MLAs and I guarantee that the government won't fall. Maybe 5-6 MLAs won't return, but the rest will," Singh, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, told a news conference. He said he came to Bengaluru because there was a 'signal' that the MLAs wanted to return.
There are 22 MLAs camping in a hotel in Bengaluru.
Singh also accused Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa of pressuring state police chief Praveen Sood in denying him access to the MLAs. "I have full sympathy with the DGP. He's under tremendous pressure by CM Yediyurappa," Singh said. "This is a power game which the BJP has scripted in this whole country. It is conceived, authored and executed by the BJP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is the person behind this operation," he said, adding that 'huge sums' had been offered to the MLAs.
According to Singh, the state police chief told him Wednesday that he cannot be given access to the MLAs. "But he said that if I write a letter to them and if the MLAs consent, then I will be given access. So, I've given signed letters addressed to 18 of my Congress MLAs. The DGP refused my request of videographing the letters being handed over to the MLAs. I'm sending these letters via courier to the Ramada hotel and I’ve requested the DGP to at least have them delivered to the MLAs," Singh said.
Singh reiterated that he had the right to meet the MLAs. "I'm contesting the Rajya Sabha election scheduled for March 26 and the MLAs are my voters," he said. "On Wednesday, the High Court of Karnataka dismissed my plea seeking a direction to the DGP to allow me to meet my MLAs. I will move the high court again saying the police prevented me from entering a public place."
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Singh said he had been advised against staging a dharna. "Still, I will decide on what to do based on the outcome of the Supreme Court case. But I continue to be on fast."