Gandhinagar, March 16 Gujarat Congress chief Amit Chavda, here on Monday, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bought resignations of five Congress MLAs for Rs 65 crore using a corruption fund.
As soon as the House assembled for the sixth session, heated discussions ensued between the Congress and the BJP members.
Chavda and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani started accusing the BJP of indulging in corrupt practices over five Congress MLAs' resignations on Saturday and Sunday.
Citing a news report, Chavda alleged the corruption money was used to buy five MLAs. "A newspaper today has claimed Rs 65 crore exchanged hands at the Gujarat Chief Minister's bungalow. Where did this money come from," he said.
The ruling party members retorted the charge causing uproar in the House.
Infuriated by the allegations, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel demanded that the opposition either prove the allegations or apologize. "The opposition leaders have made allegations of corruption against the Gujarat Chief Minister and the BJP. We can't take it lightly. Either they prove their accusations or apologize," he said.
"In an informal discussion, the BJP MLA friends complained that nobody takes notice of them, while the outsiders (Congress MLAs) are being paid money," Dhanani said. "Right now the world is affected by coronavirus, while Gujarat is getting affected by 'Todo na' virus and now it's 'Maro Na' virus," Dhanani said.
Responding to the Congress charge, Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani said, "The infighting within the Congress has resulted in resignations of MLAs."
( With inputs from IANS )