The political crisis in Madhya Pradesh is likely to shift to the state assembly on Monday after Governor Lalji Tandon asked chief minister Kamal Nath to prove his government’s majority even as Speaker NP Prajapati has been non-committal on ordering a floor test.
The list of business of the state assembly for March 16 posted on its website on Sunday night doesn’t mention any floor test on day one of the budget session. There will be governor’s address and vote of thanks only, according to the list.
“There is no intimation to the state assembly about a trust motion by the government or no-confidence motion by the opposition till now. However, as per rules intimation about such a motion can be given to the state assembly secretariat till one hour prior to the sitting of the House for the day,” AP Singh, the state assembly’s principal secretary, said.
The state plunged into a political crisis after Jyotiraditya Scindia, a prominent face of the Congress, resigned from the party last week to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Scindia’s decision to leave the Congress was followed by the resignation of 22 party MLAs loyal to him.
{{/usCountry}}Scindia’s decision to leave the Congress was followed by the resignation of 22 party MLAs loyal to him.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP claims the Congress, which had 114 MLAs in the House with an effective strength of 228, has been reduced to a minority government following the resignation of 22 of its legislators.
The opposition party has 107 legislators. There are two MLAs from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), one from the Samajwadi Party (SP), and four Independents who support the Kamal Nath government.
The Speaker had accepted the resignations of six ministers on Saturday. With this, the strength of the House has come down to 222 and the majority mark is now 112. The resignations of 16 other MLAs have not been accepted so far.
Sunday saw a series of meetings in Bhopal as well as Delhi as leaders of the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held multiple meetings to draw out a strategy.
The meetings continued late on Sunday as chief minister Kamal Nath called on the governor. In the midnight letter to the chief minister, the governor had directed him to seek a trust vote in the assembly on Monday immediately after his address.
“The governor expected me to meet him. A floor test will be decided by the speaker. The speaker will discharge his duties and I will do mine,” Kamal Nath said after meeting Tandon on Sunday night.
“I have already written to the governor earlier that I am ready for a floor test but the MLAs who are captive should be freed. I am confident about the government’s majority,” he said.
The Congress has said it is the speaker’s prerogative to decide about the proceedings of the House and the BJP maintained that the speaker has to follow the governor’s direction.
After the meeting between the governor and the chief minister, BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Kamal Nath-led state government is running away from the floor test.
“The Madhya Pradesh government has lost its majority. That is why they are running away from it. We will ask the government to bring a confidence motion tomorrow (Monday). The chief minister has said he wants a floor test. Then why is he not doing it? Our only demand is a floor test,” Chouhan said while speaking to reporters in Bhopal.
The former chief minister also spoke about the role of the speaker.
“The governor has ordered the government to conduct a floor test in the assembly after his address. The chief minister is saying it is up to the speaker and not him. What happens in the assembly is decided by the government. The speaker works on what is decided by the government,” the BJP leader added.
The state cabinet during its meeting on Sunday also flagged coronavirus outbreak ahead of the expected floor test on Monday.
“The cabinet discussed how coronavirus outbreak has led to deferring of state assembly sessions or proceedings in several states. However, whether or not it should be replicated in MP will be decided by the House only when it meets on Monday,” minister PC Sharma said while briefing journalists about the cabinet decisions.
The BJP said the state cabinet’s concern over coronavirus on the eve of the expected floor test was a delay-tactic.
“The Congress government wants to delay the floor test in the name of coronavirus threat as it has been reduced to a minority,” Rameshwar Sharma, the BJP’s state unit spokesperson and MLA, said.
Congress on Sunday called back its MLAs from Jaipur where they had been flown on March 11 in a bid to stop the BJP to approach any of them. The number of these MLAs was said to be about 80. They have been accommodated in a posh hotel in Bhopal, said Congress leaders.
State minister PC Sharma mentioned black magic while talking about the 22 MLAs staying in Bengaluru.
“These 22 Congress MLAs have been kidnapped. On seeing them it appears that they have been hypnotised and subjected to tantra-mantra (black magic),” Sharma said.
The BJP MLAs, who were flown to Gurugram in a chartered plane, also returned to the state early on Monday.
While there is still suspense about the 22 MLAs’ return to Madhya Pradesh ahead of the state assembly session, the legislators said in video messages they had requested the governor to provide them CRPF security or security by any central agency so that they could come back.
Of the 22 MLAs, the 16 whose resignations are yet to be accepted by Speaker NP Prajapati have in letters to him said they will not be able to appear before him given a ‘bad law and order situation and atmosphere of uncertainty in the state’.
Each of the MLA in his letter drafted in a similar fashion has said to the speaker, “I humbly request you to accept my resignation in the same manner in which you accepted the resignations of six other MLAs.”
“I tendered my resignation on March 10. There was no pressure on me of any kind. I am in Bengaluru and want to return to Madhya Pradesh,” Jajpal Singh Jajji, one of the MLAs, said in one of the video messages.
“The speaker has called me to appear before him to explain my stand. But I fear that MP government may arrest me on any pretext. The government can also exert pressure on me through my family members in the name of my protection,” Jajji said.
However, the speaker couldn’t be reached for his comments on the letters.
State home minister Bala Bachchan said in a statement the government has no objection to the MLAs in Bengaluru seeking CRPF security.
The home minister said, “Madhya Pradesh police is capable of providing them security. However, if the captive legislators feel that they need more strong security, they can take help of the CRPF.”
The Congress party and BJP have issued whips to their members. The Samajwadi Party has also issued a three-line whip asking its lone MLA in the state assembly Rajesh Shukla to vote in favour of the government in the event of the floor test.