A.H. Vishwanath, MLC from BJP, on Tuesday, left the members in the Legislative Council guessing when he said that his Bombay Days book was ready, but leaders from all three political parties had pleaded with him not to release it.
During a heated exchange over Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna’s resignation, BJP member A.H. Vishwanath said it was an “unpardonable crime” in political parties to speak against their party leaders, even if what they say was a fact. “He [Rajanna] was removed because he spoke against Rahul Gandhi and his campaign,” said Mr. Vishwanath, while ruling party members objected to the BJP MLC mentioning Mr. Gandhi’s name in the House.
When Mr. Vishwanath spoke about democratic values and ethics in politics, the ruling party members reminded him of BJP’s ‘Operation Lotus’ and asked him what happened in Bombay (Mumbai) when he, along with 16 other rebel MLAs, had helped topple the JD(S)-Congress coalition regime in Karnataka and form the BJP govenment.
“Tell us about the Bombay issue, too. Are we all not ‘Bombay Boys’? Tell us what really happened there,” said Congress member Puttanna.
In response, Mr. Vishwanath said, “I have written and documented everything in detail in my book Bombay Days, but leaders from all three parties have pleaded with me not to release it.”
Interrupting, Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil said he will find a good publisher for Mr. Vishwanath’s book. “Release the book. It will sell well,” he said.
The book is said to provide an inside view of the political developments that led to the replacement of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government with that of BJP in Karnataka in 2019.
