Speculations rife in Madhya Pradesh after minister says BJP leaders whisked away 8 MLAs

BHOPAL: BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh have allegedly taken eight MLAs to a hotel in Haryana as part of a conspiracy to topple the state government, a Congress leader has alleged.

The statement of Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Minister Jitu Patwari came hours after Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh claimed that a senior leader of the saffron party has taken a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator to Delhi in a chartered flight, alleging that "poaching" attempts were being made by the BJP on Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh.

The opposition BJP dismissed the claim of Madhya Pradesh's former chief minister and said his statement was aimed at ensuring his re-nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh scheduled on March 26.


"Senior BJP leaders including former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former ministers Narottam Mishra, Bhupendra Singh and Rampal Singh among others have forcibly taken eight MLAs to a hotel in Haryana as part of a conspiracy," Patwari told PTI over phone.

"The MLAs told us that they were forcibly confined by the BJP leaders," he alleged.

"We are trying to bring them back. Four of them have come back also but they have forcibly taken away tribal MLA Bisahulal Singh," he alleged.

According to media reports, Digvijay and his minister son Jaivardhan Singh also reached the Haryana hotel to meet the MLAs.

Speaking to reporters on Monday at New Delhi, Digvijay alleged his party MLAs were being offered huge amount of money by BJP leaders as part of the saffron party's "poaching" attempts to destabilise the Kamal Nath government.

Hitting back, Chouhan accused the Congress veteran of making false statements and engaging in sensationalism. BJP vice-president and MLA Rameshwar Sharma told PTI that people don't take the Congress veteran seriously.