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Another Congress MLA resigns from Madhya Pradesh assembly
The beleaguered Congress in Madhya Pradesh (MP) suffered another jolt on Thursday, when the third party lawmaker resigned from the state assembly in the past 12
The beleaguered Congress in Madhya Pradesh (MP) suffered another jolt on Thursday, when the third party lawmaker resigned from the state assembly in the past 12 days amid the rumblings of dissent that has rocked Ashok Gehlot-government in neighbouring Rajasthan.
Narayan Patel (63), a Congress member of MP legislative assembly, who represents Mandhata assembly constituency in Khandwa district, is the third party legislator in 12 days to resign.
Earlier, Pradyumn Singh Lodhi (52) and Sumitra Devi Kasdekar (36) had resigned from the state assembly and later joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Lodhi was promptly rewarded by the BJP, as hours after joining the party he was appointed the chairman of MP state civil supplies corporation.
All the three Congress MLAs, who have resigned, were debutant lawmakers, who had won MP assembly polls in December 2018.
MP Assembly’s Pro-tem Speaker Rameshwar Sharma said, “Narayan Patel tendered his resignation from the state assembly on Wednesday. I had asked him to take a final decision after giving it a thought. He confirmed on Thursday that he is willing to resign without any pressure on him or inducement.”
Sharma made the announcement in presence of the MLA as a video was released to the media, where Patel was seen standing near the Pro-tem Speaker.
Patel was unavailable for his comments, despite repeated attempts.
Narendra Saluja, state Congress president Kamal Nath’s media coordinator, said, “The BJP has never been known to be a party with a difference. But, it is now overtly playing the dirty game of horse-trading in a bid to save its government as its leaders know the outcome of the assembly by-poll results. In a democracy, the ultimate judge is the public, who will certainly give a befitting reply to the BJP in the upcoming by-polls.”
