Rajnath Singh behind 'missing' Congress MLAs: BK Hariprasad's startling allegation

In a very serious allegation against a sitting Union Minister, Congress party's BK Hariprasad on Saturday said that the 'missing' MLAs Anand Singh and Pratap Gowda Patil were held captive on the orders of Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Speaking to News 18, Hariprasad said, "Rajnath Singh was behind missing MLAs. He used ED and IT departments to hold them captive."

When asked about the floor test and possibility of BS Yeddyurappa resigning before the trust vote, Hariprasad said, "We as a party would like to face the floor test."

Congress MLAs Anand Singh and Pratap Patil Gowda, who were traced to Goldfinch Hotel in Bengaluru, have reached the Karnataka Assembly. Congress leader DK Shivakumar confirmed that Pratap Gowda has reached the assembly and would take oath as a Congress MLA. Latest update is that Anand Singh has also reached the assembly.

Anand Singh and Pratap Gowda Patil had gone missing and did not attend the swearing-in function in the Karnataka Assembly this morning. After this, it emerged that they were held captive in the Goldfinch Hotel in Bengaluru which is hardly a kilometer away from Vidhana Soudha.

Karnataka police chief Neelamani Raju then led a team to Goldfinch Hotel after which it became clear that the duo were indeed there. It is not yet clear if they were in the hotel on their own or if they were held captive, as claimed by some reports. The duo are said to claimed police protection before leaving for the assembly.

Initially it was reported that Anand Singh may support the BJP. Then yesterday (May 18) it emerged that the MLA may stay with the Congress. Anand Singh, who joined the Congress ahead of the Karnataka election, had made headlines on Thursday (May 17) after it was reported that he was not reachable and efforts on to trace him had gone in vain.