On Monday, BJP MLA and former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi expressed concerns that the Karnataka government may collapse like in Maharashtra. He dismissed the Congress's allegations that the saffron party was involved in a Operation Lotus reminiscent of the events in 2019 aimed at toppling the government.
He said the Congress government in Karnataka faces threats from within rather than any external one and that Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and company will be responsible for the fall. He dismissed the Congress’s allegation that those who toppled the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in 2019 are active once again and are offering bribes to the ruling Congress MLAs to jump ship.
Jarkiholi, who was previously with Congress and was seen as instrumental in the fall of the coalition government four years ago, said the BJP has never talked about Operation Lotus. Instead, it is the drama company of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar that is talking about it, he claimed.
Operation Lotus, a term coined by the Congress, refers to an alleged BJP conspiracy to topple an elected government. So long as D K Shivakumar is in politics, this government is in danger. He behaves in one way when he is in opposition and differently when in power, Jarkiholi said.
The information I have is that this government will collapse due to D K Shivakumar’s Belagavi company. If this collapses, then it will happen like in Maharashtra. It may happen, he added.