MP BSP SP MLAs deny 'abduction' horse-trading by BJP

    Bhopal, Feb 5 (PTI) Legislators of the Bahujan Samaj
Party and the Samajwadi Party, who were brought in a special
plane by Congress leaders to Bhopal, on Thursday denied
charges of horse-trading and abduction by BJP leaders in
Madhya Pradesh.
    While reiterating their support to the Congress-led
Kamal Nath government, BSP MLAs Ram Bai and Sanjeev Singh
Kushwaha and SP legislator Rajesh Shukla denied that any BJP
leader contacted them and offered a deal.
    A group of Congress, BSP and SP MLAs arrived here on
Wednesday afternoon in a special plane along with Madhya
Pradesh Finance Minister Tarun Bhanot.
    Talking to reporters on Thursday, Rakesh Shukla, the
SP MLA from Mehgaon, denied the Congress' charges of horse-
trading and abduction by BJP leaders.
    "There is nothing like that. I and a BSP MLA
(Kushwaha) coincidently reached Delhi together and were
staying at a hotel in Gurugram. We are not weak that someone
can abduct us," Shukla said, adding that none from the BJP
contacted him in the past two-three days.
    Reiterating his support to the Kamal Nath government,
Shukla said the government might have been facing "threat from
Congress leaders", but not from him.
    Asked about returning in the chartered plane along
with Congress leaders, Shukla said he was called by state
ministers Jaivardhan Singh, Jitu Patwari and Congress veteran
Digvijaya Singh to the Madhya Pradesh Bhawan in New Delhi and
offered the flight.
    "Since I have to return to Bhopal, I came with them,"
he said.
    Taking potshots at Congress leaders, Shukla expressed
surprise that those who were allegedly abducted were denying
the charges, while "outsiders" were making claims about them.
    BSP MLA Kushwaha also denied abduction and horse-
trading charges, and said it is "not a crime" to visit Delhi.
He also denied being contacted by any BJP leader.
    While expressing his party's support to the Congress-
led regime, Kushwaha said, "I was contacted by Digvijaya Singh
and offered special plane to Bhopal. So, I took the flight."
    Kushwaha and Shukla also said that Congress leaders
should be prevented from issuing statements about "horse-
trading and abduction", at least about them.
    Kushwaha also demanded that chief minister take action
against the ministers who were claiming they were "rescued"
from BJP leaders.
    "The horse-trading by BJP are all rumours...We were
not abducted. I went there and returned on my own free will,"
another BSP MLA Rambai also said.
    Asked about her presence in a Haryana hotel, as seen
in a viral video, Rambai said, "Ask about the truth of this
video to Jaivardhan Singh and Jitu Patwari as they were also
present."
    To a question about Digvijaya Singh's allegations that
she was taken to Delhi by BJP leader Bhupendra Singh, the BSP
legislator said she was in the same flight in which the BJP
leader was also travelling.
    "I have not got any offer from any leader," she said,
when asked about Digvijaya Singh's allegations that huge money
was offered to the MLAs in a bid to topple the government.
    In a late-night political drama in Madhya Pradesh on
Tuesday, the Congress alleged that the opposition BJP took
eight MLAs to a hotel in Haryana as part of a conspiracy to
topple the Kamal Nath government.
    On Thursday morning, the Congress held a press
conference in New Delhi, in which it claimed the BJP "abducted
14 MLAs" to bring down its government in Madhya Pradesh. PTI
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)