A day after meeting Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP delegation, Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tondon has asked Speaker NP Prajapati to hold a floor test on Monday, March 16 when the state Legislative Assembly session commences. In his order, the Governor said that after his address, the first work will be the trust vote.
"The Madhya Pradesh Assembly's session will commence at 16 March 2020 at 11 am, and after my address to the assembly, the first work to be conducted will be voting on trust vote," the Governor said. The decision on the trust vote, the Governor said, will take place by the button and that no other mode of voting will be acceptable.
Tandon said that the Kamal Nath government will have to prove the majority on March 16 and that the exercise can't be "deferred, delayed or suspended". The Governor order came after a BJP delegation led by former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited him and sought his direction to the Speaker to conduct a floor test.
Earlier on Saturday, the Speaker had accepted the resignations of six rebel Congress ministers - Mahendra Singh Sisodiya, Imarti Devi, Tulsi Silawat, Prabhuram Chaudhary, Govind Singh Rajput and Pradumn Singh Tomar. Following his decision, the majority mark in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly came down to 113.
At least 22 Madhya Pradesh Congress MLAs, including six state Cabinet ministers, had resigned from the party in a bid to topple the Kamal Nath government. The mass resignations were part of a revolt by senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia against the party. Scindia, who was at the loggerheads with CM Nath, has since joined the BJP and these legislators are said to be his loyalists.
Kamal Nath urges Amit Shah to ensure the 'release of captive Congress MLAs'
The Congress claims that its MLAs were held captive in Bengaluru and if not released the party will move the Supreme Court. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has also written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking his intervention in the matter and ensure the release of the lawmakers.
"Please use your power as Union Home Minister so that 22 Congress MLAs held captive can safely reach Madhya Pradesh and participate in the assembly session beginning from March 16, without any allurement and fear," Nath wrote in the letter.
As of today, the 230-member Madhya Pradesh legislative Assembly has a strength of 222 MLAs. The Congress has 108 MLAs in the House, excluding the support of seven other lawmakers, while the BJP has a strength of 107 legislators. If the resignations of remaining Congress rebels are accepted, the majority mark will come down to 104 and with 107 MLAs, the BJP will become the largest party.
