The Congress (I) stands condemned in Karnataka. In view of the incontrovertible evidence produced by an associate member of the state Janata legislature party that the Congress(I) opposition leader, Mr. Veerappa Moily, paid him two lakhs of rupees in order to persuade him to defect, there cannot be the slightest doubt not only that it is determined to bring down the Hegde ministry but also that it is more than willing to use its apparently considerable financial resources to achieve its objective. Indeed, there was not much scope for giving the Congress(I) the benefit of the doubt even earlier. In its issue dated November 6-12, Sunday, Calcutta, had carried a report on tape-recorded conversations between one Janata MLA sought to be bought and the general secretary of the KPCC(I) and between another Janata legislator and the party’s ally, Mr. Bangarappa, of the Kranti Ranga, which showed that the Congress(I) was trying to buy up support. In the first of these conversations, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s name figured prominently. One would have hoped that this would serve as a warning and that even if the party’s central leadership had allowed itself to be pulled into this dirty and dangerous game by its state unit, it would now put an end to it. Clearly it has done nothing of the kind. Last Saturday three members of the Janata party met at the residence of Mr. S.M. Krishna, Union minister of state for industry, to announce their decision to join the Congress(I) and on Sunday Mr. C. Byre Gowda produced the tape as well as the money (Rs. two lakhs) at least part of which came from New Delhi. For, some bundles of 100-rupee currency notes bore the markings of a Delhi branch of the State Bank of India.
At the time of writing only one of the three legislators in question is reported to have crossed over to the Congress(I). It is difficult to say whether or not the other two would follow suit. It might also be rash to conclude that the Congress(I) has bribed the MLA who has joined it and that it has offered financial inducement to the other two. But the evidence produced by Mr. Byre Gowda on Sunday and by Mr. V. Srinivasan and Mr. Vasu Dev earlier is conclusive enough. No one need depend on gossip and speculation to be convinced either that the Congress(I) is trying to topple the state government or that it is willing to buy up legislators. The reasons for this desperation are obscure. But two points are plain enough. The Congress(l) in Karnataka has come to match the party’s Haryana unit’s record in its utter contempt for morality in public life. And it has learnt nothing from its electoral debacle earlier this year. Going by the poll result then when corruption was the central issue, the Congress(I) appears to be committing suicide in Karnataka and it is taking down much else with it. There may still be time to avert a disaster. And Mrs. Gandhi cannot now claim that she has not had enough warning and evidence.