Claim
Thirty BSP MLAs were broken away to save Mulayam Singh Yadav's government — implying the Samajwadi Party also engaged in buying legislators — and the anchor demands to know how much money changed hands then.
“30 एमएलए बीएसपी के तोड़े गए थे मुलायम सिंह यादव जी की सरकार को बचाने के लिए तब कितने पैसे दिए थे? कितने में खरीदफरोख्त हुई थी? जानकारी दीजिए।”▶ Watch source segment
Rationale
The core event is real: in August-September 2003 BSP MLAs defected to enable and sustain Mulayam Singh Yadav's SP-led government in Uttar Pradesh, and the Supreme Court (Rajendra Singh Rana v. Swami Prasad Maurya, 2007) held the defectors disqualified. However, the anchor's figure of 30 is inaccurate — 13 MLAs initially approached the Governor and 37 later claimed a split (about 40 rebels in all). More importantly, the embedded assertion that money was paid to buy the MLAs ('kitne paise diye the') was never established by any court, investigation, or credible record; the judicial findings concern anti-defection law, not bribery. A real event is thus paired with an imprecise number and an unproven corruption allegation, making the claim misleading rather than accurate.
Evidence
- https://www.whiteblacklegal.co.in/details/case-analysis-rajendra-singh-rana-v-swami-prasad-maurya-and-others-2007-4-scc-270-by---astha-bhumish-shah Case analysis of Rajendra Singh Rana v. Swami Prasad Maurya (2007) 4 SCC 270: in August 2003, 13 BSP MLAs asked the UP Governor to invite Mulayam Singh Yadav to form the government; subsequently 37 BSP MLAs claimed a split and supported the SP government. The Supreme Court's Constitution Bench held the 13 MLAs stood disqualified under the Tenth Schedule. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://www.scobserver.in/journal/court-in-review-defection-of-assembly-members/ Supreme Court Observer review confirming the 2003 UP episode: BSP rebel MLAs backed Mulayam Singh Yadav's SP government ahead of the floor test, the Speaker recognised the 'split', and the Supreme Court in 2007 disqualified the defecting MLAs. ✓ reachable · archived
- https://india.eu.org/spip.php?article4524 Report on the courts setting aside the recognised 'split' in the BSP that had propped up the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, confirming the defection was ruled illegitimate. ✗ unreachable