'Cong will poach BJP MLAs if they try to lure our men'

Neither Jarkiholis nor Shivashankarappa will go to the BJP. In fact no 'appa' from the Congress will join the saffron party. All reports about a few Congress MLAs switching allegiance to the BJP are false and fabricated, said veteran Congress leader and Davangere South MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a protest against 'Rafale scam' by the Congress, Shivashankarappa said, "Several of their (BJP) MLAs are keen to join the Congress. If the BJP leaders try to poach our MLAs with inducements, we will not sit quiet. We will exact revenge by luring their men into the Congress."

When asked whether the BJP leaders have approached him, Shivashankarappa said, "They do not have guts to approach me. They keep giving statements to media, misleading people."

To a query on the reports that eight Congress MLAs, including B C Patil, have joined the BJP, the former minister said, "No one from the Congress has switched their allegiance to the BJP. It's all plain lies."