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Opposition parties’ joint Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of indulging in horse trading in the election for the country’s highest constitutional post and sought a probe into it.
As per PTI report, He claimed that the saffron party was carrying out ‘Operation Kamal’, under which it was allegedly offering a “huge sum of money to non-BJP MLAs” to ensure its presidential candidate’s win as it is afraid of the outcome of a free and fair election.
Kamal or lotus is the poll symbol of the BJP. In recent years, the opposition parties have been accusing the BJP of carrying out ‘Operation Kamal’ to gain power in the states where it does not rule. The opposition uses the term to describe the saffron party’s alleged attempts to engineer defection for forming a government.
Talking to reporters after meeting the Congress MLAs, Sinha said, “I read with deep distress this morning the news published in a leading newspaper in Madhya Pradesh with the headline – ‘BJP eyeing 28 tribal MLAs of Congress, cross voting preparation’.”
“I have also heard from credible sources that huge sums of money are being offered to non-BJP MLAs to vote for the party’s candidate in the presidential elections,” he alleged.
This clearly means that ‘Operation Kamal’ is now being put into effect even in the election to the highest office of the Republic, Sinha said, adding it also shows the BJP has become fearful of the outcome of a free and fair presidential election.
