Bengaluru:  The ruling Congress has come under severe attack by the Opposition BJP and JD(S) for inducting Bidar (South) Independent MLA  Ashok Kheny in to the party. Kheny is also the Chairman of NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise) .

Kheny’s induction comes less than a month after the party embraced BJP leader Anand Singh, who is an accused in the illegal mining scam, which has given the Opposition new stick to beat the Congress with.

BJP Spokesperson Suresh Kumar said the Congress has shown its true colours by taking in Kheny, even as a Joint Legislature Committee  headed by Law Minster T.B. Jayachandra, in its report, highlighted the illegalities of Kheny’s NICE Company. Maintaining that the Congress is no longer a party that fought for India’s independence, but one that shields the corrupt, Suresh Kumar said the BJP will include Kheny’s induction into the Congress as an issue in its ongoing ‘Bengaluru Rakshisi’ Campaign.

Former Deputy CM and BJP MLA R. Ashoka quipped that the Congress roped Kheny as it needed money for the upcoming elections. JD(S) State President and former CM H.D Kumaraswamy, accusing Kheny of looting the State said that Chief Minster Siddharamaiah had set a bad precedent by inducting the ‘tainted’ businessman. The Aam Admi Party (AAP) also took potshots at the Congress over the induction of Kheny.