Bhubaneswar/Bengaluru, March 15 Amidst fears of cross-voting ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha, senior Congress leader and Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka on Sunday alleged that attempts were made to bribe party MLAs with ₹5 crore each while they were staying at a hotel in Bengaluru.
Ulaka made the allegation in a video message released by the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) after Bengaluru police arrested two persons for allegedly trying to bribe the party legislators.
"They were trying to offer ₹5 crore each to Congress MLAs," Ulaka claimed.
The ruling BJP, however, rejected the Congress allegations.
"The Congress allegation is false. They are making such baseless claims after realizing their certain defeat in the Rajya Sabha polls tomorrow. The Congress has a habit of cross-voting," Odisha BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal told reporters.
According to Ulaka, four persons – Birendra Prasad, Suresh, Ajit Sahu and Simanchal Mahakud – had checked into the same hotel where the Congress MLAs were staying.
"These four persons came from Rourkela in Odisha and stayed in the hotel on Saturday night," he claimed.
"They had attempted to give ₹5 crore each to MLAs. Blank cheques were recovered from their possession. During interrogation by Karnataka Police, they named BJP-backed Independent candidate Dilip Ray," Ulaka alleged.
He further claimed that the accused had called the hotel manager several times.
"The hotel is owned by Ray. The name of one Jaiswal, who is allegedly close to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, has also cropped up during the investigation," he alleged.
Demanding a proper probe into the matter, Ulaka also alleged that the four persons had threatened the Congress MLAs.
"If there is any harm to our MLAs, Odisha chief minister will be responsible," the Congress MP said.
"Two people have been arrested. One of the accused has been named as Suresh. Hunt is on for the third accused," a source told
Ulaka said the local police at Bidadi police station took action after the Congress lodged a formal complaint in this regard.
He said that they became suspicious after finding the four people roaming close to Congress MLAs while they were taking breakfast on Sunday morning. They too enquired about the room numbers of the Congress MLAs, Ulaka said.
A report from Bengaluru said that eight Congress MLAs, along with some party leaders, were camping at a hotel in Karnataka. The action was taken to shield the party MLAs from "horse trading."
Leader of the Odisha Congress Legislature Party Rama Chandra Kadam said that eight of the party’s 14 MLAs had been flown to Bengaluru to protect them from alleged attempts to lure them, while six others, including him, remained in Bhubaneswar.
Meanwhile, the OPCC disciplinary committee has issued a show-cause notice to Mohana MLA Dasarathi Gomango for his "mysterious" disappearance from the state capital despite a party whip asking all MLAs to remain in Bhubaneswar till March 16, the day of voting for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Gomang has remained "incommunicable" since the last two days, Kadam said.