The Curious Case of the Hotel Bills

The Congress and BJP wrangle in Karnataka over horse-trading charges

The Congress and BJP are locked in a new battle of evidence on who was behind the bid to topple the BS Yeddyurappa-led government last month. The BJP alleges that the bills for the 19 rebel MLAs, including five independents, who were holed up in a Chennai hotel, were paid by VG Siddhartha, who runs the Café Coffee Day chain. Siddhartha is Union External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s son-in-law, and the BJP claims his involvement has exposed a Janata Dal Secular-Congress nexus.
State BJP president KS Eshwarappa displayed photostat copies of the hotel bills as evidence. “The Rs 3.89 lakh bill at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Chennai was paid in cash by a representative of Siddhartha’s Amalgamated Bean Coffee Ltd. Siddhartha also stayed there during the crisis, clearly indicating the role of the Congress,’’ he alleged. A flummoxed Congress later released similar bills without Siddhartha’s name and room number, and claimed that this ‘original’ bill proves that the son-in-law in question was not a hotel guest at that time.
According to the BJP, Siddhartha stayed in room 1621 and was billed Rs 26,112. In the Congress’ version, his name is missing and the amount is exactly minus that amount—at Rs 3.63 lakh—giving rise to the suspicion that this particular room’s bill was deliberately removed. The Congress also claimed that the rebels’ bills were paid by someone named Clifford Mascrenhes, who is not a Congressman. They also released a copy of the cheque issued by Mascrenhes.
So far, Siddhartha has denied any involvement, but not explained the fine print in the bills.

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Anil Budur Lulla