MP ministers storm resort in K’taka to ‘free’ Cong MLAs
Two ministers taken to Bengaluru police station, subsequently released
High voltage drama was on Thursday witnessed in a resort located on the outskirts of Bengaluru when two Madhya Pradesh ministers stormed the hotel to ‘rescue’ 19 rebel Congress MLAs, secluded there for the last four days, leading to their ‘detention’ by local police.
Ruling Congress released a video here in which state higher education minister Jitu Patwari and state animal husbandry minister Lakhan Singh were seen engaged in a heated exchange with police deployed at the resort.
The video clip showed the two ministers along with father of Congress MLA Manoj Choudhury, holed up in the resort along with 18 other rebel party legislators, being taken to a bus parked there.
“The two ministers along with Mr Choudhury’s father were arrested by Bengaluru police when they tried to rescue the 19 Congress MLAs held hostage in the resort”, AICC legal cell chairman and Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha said while addressing a news conference here.
The video clip showed Mr Patwari being pushed by the police when he tried to enter the resort.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and state law minister P.C. Sharma were flanked by Mr Tankha at the presser.
Sources in Congress here said that the two ministers were taken to a local police station and then released.
The two ministers along with local Congress leaders were planning to stage sit-in at the resort demanding ‘release’ of the MLAs from the resort, sources said.
“The two ministers were assaulted by the police there”, Mr Tankha claimed.
He said the two ministers visited the resort to ‘rescue’ the 19 rebel MLAs being held ‘hostage’ in the resort for the last few days. Even, the cell phones of these legislators were ‘seized’ and they were now allowed to talk freely to their family members over phone.