Cong minister trying to meet rebel MLAs held

BENGALURU/BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh (MP) cabinet minister for higher education, sports and youth affairs, Jitendra Patwari, was detained on Thursday when he got into a scuffle after he was prevented by some police personnel from meeting 19 rebel Congress members of legislative assembly (MLAs) at Embassy Boulevards, where the lawmakers are staying in a resort. Later, Patwari was released.

On Tuesday, the rebel Congress MLAs had written to the Karnataka police chief, urging him to ensure their security and free movement. Patwari and another MP minister Lakhan Singh were in Bengaluru to try and convince the rebel MLAs to withdraw their decision and come back to the party fold. Patwari had gone to the resort with some relatives of the rebel Congress MLAs.

The Congress’s Karnataka unit has condemned the act of preventing Patwari from meeting the rebel MLAs. It accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government of rowdyism, demanded his immediate release and an apology from the state chief minister B S Yediyurappa.

“It was inappropriate for the MP minister [Patawari] to try to barge in and manhandle the policemen who were doing their duty. Such strong arm tactic won’t work,” said a BJP leader, who did not want to be identified.

In Bhopal, the Congress leaders claimed that detention of Patwari showed that the rebel Congress legislators were being held hostage by the BJP. Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh wondered why the rebel MLAs were not allowed to meet the ministers, and alleged they have been held “hostage” by the BJP.

BJP’s chief whip in the MP assembly, Narottam Mishra, denied the charge, and said the MLAs have gone to Bengaluru on their own as they were miffed with the Kamal Nath-led Congress government.

On Tuesday, 22 Congress MLAs resigned in a coordinated revolt soon after Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the party. Scindia joined the BJP on Wednesday and was nominated hours later as the party’s Rajya Sabha candidate from MP. The BJP leaders in Karnataka said that after Thursday’s incident, the 19 rebel Congress MLAs are likely to be shifted to a new undisclosed location.

MP MINISTER JITENDRA PATWARI GOT INTO A SCUFFLE AFTER HE WAS PREVENTED BY POLICE FROM MEETING 19 MLAS. HE WAS LATER LET GO