Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the BJP's "Operation Lotus" had earlier failed in Delhi
Punjab Police on Wednesday filed a case on Aam Aadmi Party's complaint that the BJP was trying to bribe its MLAs. AAP sought a probe into allegations of an attempt by the BJP to topple its government.
The ruling party claimed that the BJP had offered Rs 25 crore each to at least 10 MLAs. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the BJP's "Operation Lotus" had earlier failed in Delhi. "Operation Lotus" is a code name used by Opposition parties to refer to "poaching" of MLAs by the BJP.
The state BJP has already dubbed the allegations as "baseless" and a "bundle of lies".
"The baseless allegation made by the Punjab minister Harpal Cheema against the BJP of toppling the state government shows that AAP is leading to a big split in Punjab. The party is on the verge of being torn apart by Kejriwal's interference," said the BJP's Subhash Sharma.
Earlier this month, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party accused the BJP of misusing central government's agencies and offering "Rs 20 crore each" to some of its Delhi MLAs to cross over to the national party.
"The BJP is offering Rs 25 crore per MLA to switch sides. Operation Lotus may have succeeded in Karnataka, but the Delhi MLAs stayed firm and failed the BJP operation," said Mr Cheema.
"If there is a change of government in Punjab, you (MLAs) will be offered big promotions, posts," said Mr Cheema, reiterating that MLAs have received very many calls asking them to bring down the Bhagwant Mann-led government.