Congress alleges BJP-linked man tried to bribe MLAs with Rs 5 cr cheque

Congress alleges Rs 5 crore bribe attempt by BJP-linked man

AICC secretary in charge of Odisha, Jetti Kusum Kumar, on Sunday, alleged that a man linked to a candidate supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party attempted to bribe Congress MLAs with a blank cheque worth Rs 5 crore, claiming the party caught the individual and registered a case. Speaking to ANI, Kumar alleged that an FIR had been filed against Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and a hotel owner, while also accusing BJP candidate Dilip Roy of involvement in the alleged horse-trading attempt. "A man of a candidate being supported by BJP, came to our MLA and brought a blank cheque, which we caught and registered a case. This is a result of the BJP's horse trading... We filed a report against the state CM and the hotel owner... Our MLAs are fighting together under a common ideology and BJP's conspiracy will fail. The common candidate of BJD and Congress will win," he said.

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"The BJP offered Rs 5 crore... Blank cheques were caught and the call records were traced. A BJP candidate named Dilip Roy was caught... An FIR was also registered," Jetti Kusum Kumar said.

MP recounts incident at Bengaluru hotel

Meanwhile, Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka also alleged that four individuals attempted to poach Congress MLAs from Odisha by offering them Rs 5 crore each, claiming that the incident took place at a hotel in Bengaluru where the party legislators were staying. Speaking to ANI, Ulaka said that the Congress had brought eight MLAs from Odisha to the hotel for their security when the four individuals arrived and began behaving suspiciously. "Four people came from Odisha yesterday. They checked into our hotel, where we had brought our eight MLAs for their security. When we were having breakfast today, they started circling us. They entered our lift but they didn't step out. We exited the lift," Ulaka said.

Police find links to BJP-backed candidate

He further said that the Congress leaders grew suspicious and informed the police, following which an investigation was initiated. "When we became suspicious, we approached the police. When police investigated and interrogated them, it was found that their call records showed multiple outgoing calls to Dilip Ray, an independent candidate backed by the BJP," he said.

"Another person's phone showed a message from Dilip Ray. They had a blank cheque. So it cannot be a coincidence. They were attempting to poach our MLAs by offering them Rs 5 crore each," he alleged.

'Odisha CM will be responsible'

The Congress MP condemned the alleged "horse-trading" and claimed that one of the four individuals was a close aide of the Chief Minister. "One of the four people included a close aide of the Chief Minister. I condemn this horse-trading. All our people are united, and we will win tomorrow," Ulaka said.

"FIR has been lodged, and the police will take action. They had threatened our people with kidnapping. If any of our people face any issue, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi would be responsible," he added.