Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday claimed that the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party had on Thursday tried to lure a Congress legislator by offering him a “gift”. “Operation Lotus is on,” he told reporters in Bengaluru, according to PTI. “Yesterday night also they have telephoned a Congress legislator, asking him where to send the gift.”

“You will be surprised to know the gift amount,” Kumaraswamy said, according to ANI. “Our legislator responded that he does not need any gift and wants to be left alone.”

“Operation Lotus” is a reference to the BJP’s alleged attempts to convince Congress and Janata Dal (United) legislators to defect, so as to cause the state government to collapse.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah alleged that the BJP possesses money it earned through corruption. “With that corruption money they tried and failed [to buy legislators],” he added.

On Thursday, two Congress MLAs who were absent from a legislature party meeting of the party on January 17 – Ramesh Jarkiholi and Mahesh Kumathahalli – had reportedly written to Siddaramaiah, pledging their loyalty to the party. Another MLA, B Nagendra, had replied to a notice Siddaramaiah issued the day after the meeting. A fourth, Umesh Jadhav, has not yet responded.

Karnataka BJP President BS Yeddyuppa has denied that the saffron party was trying to lure away MLAs of the Congress-Janata Dal (United) dispensation, and claimed last week that the party will not destabilise the government “at any cost”.

On Friday, he called Kumaraswamy’s charges “baseless”. “We are not resorting to any operation Kamala [Lotus],” he said. “Their MLAs are trying to leave them because of internal fights, and it is their duty to keep them in the coalition.”