MP Cabinet authorises Kamal Nath to take call on proposed floor test tomorrow
BHOPAL/NEW DELHI: In a latest development in the political drama unfolding in Madhya Pradesh, the cabinet has authorized Chief Minister Kamal Nath to take a call on the proposed floor test tomorrow.
The governor Lalji Tandon had asked Speaker Narmada Prasad Prajapati to hold a floor test on Monday. Governor Tandon had asked Chief Minister Kamal Nath to seek trust vote on Monday, in a late-night move on Saturday, days after 22 Congress MLAs resigned from the Congress pushing into a crisis after senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia revolted and joined the BJP.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Narmada Prasad Prajapati on Sunday said he was worried about what’s happening with the rebel Congress MLAs who have sent their resignations but have not contacted him directly. Rebel Congress MLAs have been camped in Bengaluru after sending their resignations to the Speaker through an emissary.
“I’ve been waiting for MLAs who’ve sent their resignations to me through one or the other medium, why are they not contacting me directly? I’m worried about what’s happening with members of my assembly. It raises questions on the state of democracy,” Prajapati said.
The Madhya Pradesh cabinet has authorised Chief Minister Kamal Nath to take a call on the proposed floor test tomorrow as the Governor’s letter on the matter was received at midnight.
In the letter, Governor Lalji Tandon had asked Speaker Narmada Prasad Prajapati to hold a floor test on Monday. It is not essential that the floor test takes place tomorrow abhi toh corona chal raha hai (the coronavirus is on now),” cabinet minister Pradeep Jaiswal said.
A team of BJP leaders, including Jyotiraditya Scindia and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, met Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to find out the legal position regarding the disqualification of the 22 MLAs who resigned last week. The resignation of the Scindia loyalists last week has brought the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government on the brink of collapse. Mr Scindia, sidelined since the 2018 assembly polls, had changed camp and joined the BJP.
While, CM Kamal Nath has claimed that he has the numbers to win the trust vote. After a state cabinet meeting this morning, minister and independent MLA Pradeep Jaiswal said, “We have the numbers. The Chief Minister is confident. Wait and watch”.
Ahead of tomorrow’s floor test, Jyotiraditya Scindia today met Union Minister and BJP leader Narendra Singh Tomar. Later, along with the BJP’s former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, they met the Solicitor General to discuss the possibility of disqualification of the 22 rebel MLAs, and their right to contest elections in future.
The Congress has moved all its MLAs to Bhopal ahead of Monday’s floor test mandated by the Governor. The MLAs were lodged at a resort in Jaipur. After a cabinet meeting called by Kamal Nath today, the Congress said the rebel MLAs in Bengaluru were “kidnapped” and they were not being allowed to meet their families.
“Many of them want to come but they are not being allowed to come back. They are being terrorized. Mobile phones have been taken away,” a minister said. Alleging that the matter is a national issue, the Congress said it would approach the Supreme Court.
After the Congress allegations, many of the rebel MLAs had sent videos on which they are seen professing loyalty to Mr Scindia and reiterating their reason for resigning.
The Congress has 108 MLAs in the House, and the support of seven allied legislators. If the resignations of all 22 MLAs are accepted, the Congress’s strength will come way below the new majority mark of 104, and the BJP, with 107 MLAs, can form government.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s government initially had 120 MLAs – just four over the majority mark of 116 in the 230-member Assembly.
(IRA JHA With Agency Inputs ).
