Cong, BJP tussle over MP floor test
TURMOIL Nath rejects speculation his govt will fall short of majority
BHOPAL: A war of words broke out between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the first day of the Madhya Pradesh assembly’s budget session on Monday amid confusion over whether a floor test will be held, as directed by governor Lalji Tandon.
Speaker NP Prajapati refused to comment on the issue. “You will get to know about it tomorrow only. I will not tell you about my decision in advance,” he told news agency ANI.
The business list of the state assembly for March 16 on Sunday night mentioned the governor’s address and vote of thanks only.
State assembly principal secretary AP Singh said, “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.”
The Congress government’s problems began last week after 22 MLAs resigned from the assembly in the wake of former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia joining the BJP.
The speaker later accepted the resignation of six members, bringing the strength of the House to 222, with the majority mark at 112. There are two vacancies in the 230-member assembly.
Before the crisis, the Congress had 114 MLAs, and enjoyed the support of four independent legislators, two MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party and one legislator of the Samajwadi Party. The BJP has 107 MLAs.
The Congress called back its MLAs from Jaipur where they had been flown on March 11. The number of these MLAs was said to be about 80. A health department official said on condition of anonymity that all MLAs were made to undergo a test to check if they had been infected with the Coronavirus.
The BJP leaders flown to Gurugram may return on Sunday night or Monday morning.
“We are waiting for instructions,” said one MLA on condition of anonymity.
Chief minister Kamal Nath dismissed speculation that his government will fall short of the majority mark in the assembly.
“We will not allow the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to succeed in its design. I am confident about the government proving its majority. I would like to request the governor to respect the Constitution and its values and limit himself to the same.”
But he didn’t make it clear whether the trust vote will be held on Monday as per the governor’s direction issued shortly after midnight on Sunday.
“The BJP wants that the (22) Congress MLAs be held captive in Bangalore when a floor test is held here. Voting has a meaning when all are free to vote in a free atmosphere.”
At a cabinet meeting on Sunday, ministers discussed the coronavirus epidemic that has claimed two lives in India, raising suspicion in the BJP camp that the Congress wants to delay the floor test. “The cabinet discussed how the 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,” said state minister PC Sharma.
State BJP spokesperson and MLA Rameshwar Sharma said, “The Congress government wants to delay the floor test in the name of coronavirus threat as it has been reduced to a minority.”
BJP national vice-president and MLA Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “There should be an immediate floor test in the House after governor’s address as the latter’s instructions to the government.”
In his midnight missive, the governor not only asked for a floor test on Monday but also specified the way in which it should be held.
“The only business after my address in the House will be voting on the state government’s trust motion. The voting will take place only by pushing the button. No other method will be adopted for the same. Videography of the entire proceedings will be done through independent persons and in any way and the proceedings will not be deferred, delayed or suspended,” the governor’s message read.
Late on Sunday night, Tandon sent another message to the chief minister. “I have learnt through a representation from Bharatiya Janata Party and also from the state assembly secretariat that the state assembly doesn’t have the facility of voting by pushing the button. Hence, voting is not possible through this method,” the statement read.
Hence, he said, “The para (in the earlier missive) that trust vote will be decided by division of votes while pushing the button be read as ‘since the 10th schedule is in force in the state I hereby order that voting on trust motion be conducted by raising hands and it is not done through any other method’.”