Madhya Pradesh MLAs Held Hostage in Karnataka, May Move Supreme Court, Says Congress

The Congress party on Thursday came out all guns blazing against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying its Madhya Pradesh MLAs were being held hostage by the saffron party in Bengaluru.

The grand old party also released videos in which the police could be seen roughing up a leader. The Madhya Pradesh Congress alleged that two of its ministers — Jitu Patwari and Lakhan Singh — had gone to Bengaluru where they were assaulted and arrested.

Taking two Twitter, the party claimed the saffron party had kidnapped its MLAs and kept them at a Bengaluru resort. “When the father of an MLA went there to meet him, he was disrespected and the minister accompanying him was arrested and assaulted,” the party said.

“Modi Ji, don’t embarrass the country.”

In a press conference, the party also demanded police take action and ensure the release of “our ministers and MLAs.” It threatened to move the Supreme Court if the action wasn’t taken quickly.

Meanwhile, senior party leader Digvijaya Singh said there was no question of floor test because the resignations of legislatures have not been accepted by the Speaker yet.

“Floor test can not take place as the resignations submitted by 19 MLAs have not been accepted. They should physically come before the Speaker and speak for themselves. These MLAs have been held hostage by the BJP,” he said while speaking to reporters in Bhopal.

Congress has been witnessing an internal turf war in Madhya Pradesh since the party formed the government there in 2018.

The crisis deepened on Tuesday after Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from Congress and at least 22 MLAs close to him announced to withdraw support from the Kamal Nath government. Scindia on Wednesday joined the BJP in the presence of party chief JP Nadda. (Agencies)