Legislature session likely to be stormy

Opposition parties are keen on raising the Shrimant Patil issue despite the ex-Minister’s about-face

The monsoon session of the Karnataka Legislature commencing from Monday is expected to be stormy as the principal Opposition Congress is expected to attack the BJP over handling of floods and COVID -19. Though Shrimant Patil, BJP MLA, has made a U-turn by claiming that the BJP had not made cash offer to him to switch sides from the Congress, his statement of cash offer is bound to embarrass the BJP as the Opposition parties are set to raise the issue in the session. Mr. Patil has given the Congress ammunition to fire at the BJP by stating on Saturday that he had been offered money to switch over to the BJP, but had sought a ministerial post. On Sunday, speaking to reporters at Ambdagatti village near Kittur in Belagavi, Mr. Patil retracted his statements and claimed that he had voluntarily gone to meet BJP leaders, and that nobody made the offer. “The BJP leaders wanted to know my expectations, and I told them I only wanted a good position. I joined the BJP seeing the good work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.