Four of the six Madhya Pradesh MLAs, reportedly rescued from a Manesar hotel on Wednesday by senior Congress leaders, said they had returned of their own accord and were not offered bribes to cross over nor held hostage by BJP leaders.
BSP’s Sanjeev Singh Kushwah and Rambai Parihar, SP’s Rajesh Shukla and Congressman Aidal Singh Kansana have rubbished claims of Ministers Jaivardhan Singh and Jitu Patwari that they had to be urgently brought back since they were forcibly taken to the hotel.
Patheria MLA, Ms. Parihar, clarified that she went on her own to her daughter’s house, and had met the BJP leader at the airport.
“Politicians meet each other often, what’s wrong in that? There has been no coercion, we are not children,” she said.
Mr. Singh on Monday had accused BJP leaders of luring MLAs with the Congress government with crores of rupees to cross over, in an attempt to destabilise the regime.
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Terming the charge of an attempt to being bought over “a lie”, she added, “There was no such deal or manhandling. The two Ministers must be asked to reveal the truth. We returned of our own accord.”
Denying that he’d received any offer from the BJP, Mr. Kushwah, Bhind MLA, said the BSP legislators in the State had been heeding its chief Mayawati’s direction of supporting the government from outside since its formation. “But today, some Ministers are making such remarks, that they should refrain from, only to gain traction. This will only hurt the Congress and Kamal Nath,” he said.
Stating that this was an attempt by two-four Ministers, who sought the spotlight, to tarnish his image, he added, “If you have rescued us, come out in the open informing everyone how it was done. I have gone to New Delhi several times, but have I been rescued each time? The government is safe and will complete it’s five year tenure. Kamal Nath is a great Chief Minister”.
“We were not kidnapped. We are not that weak,” said Rajesh Shukla, who represents Bijawar. “I spoke to Mr. Nath six times on the night of our supposed rescue, so how could we be held hostage? MLAs are competent enough, no one can take them anywhere. My phone was not off even for a single minute.”
Calling upon Ministers to refrain from such claims as it made the MLAs seem weaker, he said, “What response will we give to the people of our region? The Ministers are disrespecting us. And if they claim we were held hostage, they should prove that.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Kansana, fourth-time MLA from Sumawali, stated that he had not gone missing. “No one is that powerful enough to take me away against my will. My daughter-in-law is admitted at a hospital in New Delhi and I went to see her. I was staying at the Madhya Pradesh Bhavan, so how could I be missing? And why would BJP offer me anything as I belong to the Congress. I was not at the hotel, and no Minister brought me back.”
The Kamal Nath government enjoys the support of 114 Congress, two BSP, four independent and an SP MLA, while the BJP holds 107 seats in the Vidhan Sabha.
