Cong for rejection of MLAS’ resignations
BHOPAL: The Congress’s Madhya Pradesh (MP) unit is likely to ask the assembly speaker, NP Prajapati, to reject the resignations of 21 out of 22 party legislators on technical grounds because the identically worded letters do not mention “state assembly” and hadn’t been submitted by the lawmakers in person, party leaders said on Wednesday.
Assembly secretariat officials also said, on the condition of anonymity, that the speaker is likely to reject the resignation letters on technical grounds.
Going on the offensive after the legislators sent their resignations, the Congress, on Wednesday, filed a petition to the speaker and demanded disqualification of six ministers as MLAS given their anti-party activities. The 22 MLAS who tendered their resignation include these six ministers, said state Congress spokesperson JP Dhanopiya.
The role of the speaker is critical in determining the validity of the resignations and the fate of the MLAS, which will have an
impact on the strength of the House. Prajapati, the speaker in MP, is originally from the Congress. Nineteen Congress MLAS, who are staying at a resort in Bengaluru, including the six ministers, sent their resignation letters to the speaker via email on Tuesday and later also to MP governor Lalji Tandon. In the evening, the original copies of the letters were handed over to Prajapati by a delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Bhopal.
Bhupendra Singh, a BJP MLA and former home minister, brought the letters from Bengaluru to Bhopal. Earlier, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had accused Bhupendra Singh and some other BJP leaders of trying to poach the Congress MLAS. Besides the 19 MLAS, three other Congress MLAS have also submitted their resignation letters to the speaker.
The assembly secretariat officials cited above said that all the purported resignation letters had been identically worded.
“I hereby, with effect from March 10, 2020, resign from my position in the ‘assembly’ [Sabha].” Brijendra Singh Yadav, Ashok Nagar MLA, is the only lawmaker who has written “state assembly’ [Vidhan Sabha]” in his resignation letter. HT has seen the copies of the letters.
A state assembly secretariat officer said, “The resignation letters with the word ‘sabha’ can’t be accepted. It has to be Vidhan Sabha [state assembly].”
The Congress has decided to raise the issue with the speaker.
“BJP leaders have no legal standing to submit Congress MLAS’ resignation letters ...They also have the technical flaw,” MP Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta said. “The Congress will try to ensure that the acceptance of the resignation letters is delayed as its government has lost a majority in the House...,” said BJP ‘s state vice-president Vijesh Lunawat.