Koraput: Ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha, eight Congress MLAs were allegedly offered Rs 5 crore each to cross-vote, prompting swift action by Karnataka Police, who have arrested two persons in connection with the case.
Senior Congress leader and Koraput MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka said the party had taken precautionary measures to ensure the safety of its MLAs, who were staying at a hotel in Bengaluru. “Tomorrow are the Rajya Sabha elections, and Congress, CPI(M), and BJD have jointly backed urologist Datteswar Hota as a common candidate. To protect our MLAs, arrangements were made in Bengaluru. But yesterday evening, four persons — Birendra Prasad, Suresh, Ajit Sahu, and Simanchal Mahakud — checked into the same hotel. This morning, while we were having breakfast, they were roaming near our MLAs and tried to approach them,” Ulaka said.
The four men, all reportedly from Rourkela, were handed over to the police after suspicions arose.
“They were offering Rs 5 crore to each MLA through blank cheques. During interrogation, the accused named BJP-backed independent candidate Dilip Ray, and also reportedly contacted the hotel manager multiple times. The hotel is owned by Ray. Additionally, the name of Jaiswal, close to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, has surfaced during the investigation,” Ulaka added.
The Congress MP warned, “If any harm comes to our MLAs, the Odisha Chief Minister will be held responsible.”
Two people have been arrested so far, including one identified as Suresh. The hunt is on for the remaining accused. Local police at Bidadi police station acted promptly after the Congress lodged a formal complaint. Ulaka said suspicion arose when the four individuals were seen roaming close to the Congress MLAs during breakfast and enquiring about their room numbers.
A report from Bengaluru stated that eight Congress MLAs, along with party leaders, were camping at the hotel as a protective measure against attempts to lure them into cross-voting. Rama Chandra Kadam, Leader of the Odisha Congress Legislature Party, said that eight of the party’s 14 MLAs were flown to Bengaluru for safety, while six others, including him, stayed in Bhubaneswar.
In a related development, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) disciplinary committee issued a show-cause notice to Mohana MLA Dasarathi Gomango for his unexplained absence from Bhubaneswar, despite a party whip directing all MLAs to remain in the state capital until the day of voting. Kadam confirmed that Gomango has been unreachable for the past two days.
The Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha are scheduled for March 16, and the Congress party has reiterated that it will ensure all its MLAs vote according to the party line, while demanding a proper and impartial investigation into the bribery attempt.
