Floor test not possible amid outbreak: Nath
desh Vidhan Sabha”.
He claimed the speaker, the chief minister and the principal secretary of the assembly have “flagrantly violated the constitutional principles and have deliberately and wilfully defied the directions” of the governor asking the government to prove the majority on the floor of the house on March 16 when the budget session was to commence.
The plea said a floor test is constitutionally imperative because the Nath government in the state has been reduced to a minority on account of lack of confidence and the resignation of 22 Congress MLAS.
“It is becoming clear every day that the chief minister is fully conscious that he has lost confidence of 22 MLAS belonging to his own party and reduced to minority and he does not wish to face floor test unless and until he gets an opportunity to either pressurise them or purchase them to vote in his favour,” said the petition.
It also referred to the recent Maharashtra political crisis in which the top court had ordered the floor test within 24 hours.
On Saturday night, the Madhya Pradesh governor wrote to Nath asking him to seek a trust vote in the assembly soon after the governor’s address on Monday, saying his government was in a minority.
BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath has written another letter to Governor Lalji Tandon on Tuesday underlining the reasons why a floor test was not possible on Tuesday. Nath said he regrets the Governor’s contention that his previous letter was against the decorum.
Tandon had asked Kamal Nath to hold the floor test today, after the state Assembly was adjourned on Monday. In his letter to Kamal Nath, the governor had declared that he would consider the government to have lost the trust of the assembly if he misses the crucial floor test.
Replying to this letter, Nath on Tuesday said that governor’s opinion that if he didn’t go for a floor test on March 17 he will be considered t o have l ost his majority i n t he House was unconstitutional.
Earlier, the governor had asked the CM to seek a trust vote in the House after his (Governor’s) address on Monday.
“I have always taken care of my honour and dignity in my long political career of 40 years. I am pained after going through your letter dated March 16, 2020 in which you have accused me of not complying with the parliamentary decorum. I didn’t have any such intention but still if you have felt like this then I wish to express my regret,” Kamal Nath said in the letter.
The CM further said, “In your letter you have written about the assembly being adjourned but not mentioned the reason. Entire world is plagued by coronavirus. The WHO has declared the disease as a pandemic. Government of India has issued an advisory to avoid large gatherings, public places and crowd. This is why the Speaker of the state assembly has adjourned the proceedings till 11 am on March 26.”
“I proved my majority in the House several times in the past 15 months. Since BJP is making the accusation that I don’t enjoy a majority it can get a floor test done through a no-confidence motion...once proceedings take place on this I will prove my majority in the House,” he said.