Resignations of 6 Cong MLAS in MP accepted

Chief minister Kamal Nath writes to Shah over 22 ‘captive’ legislators It’s an unprecedented situation that on one hand, BJP is demanding a floor test but on the other hand they have held captive Congress MLAS KAMAL NATH, chief minister

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh assembly Speaker NP Prajapati on Saturday accepted the resignations of six ministers from the assembly amid a continuing political standoff between the Congress state government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the status of 22 lawmakers of the ruling party.

Prajapati accepted the resignations by the ministers, who are among the 22 MLAS staying at a Bengaluru resort since the start of the week, minutes after he said he would make himself available even on Sunday to hear their explanations for the resignations letters handed to him by a BJP legislator.

The ministers are Tulsiram Silavat, Pradyumn Singh Tomar, Mahendra Sisodia, Imrati Devi, Prabhuram Chaudhary and Govind Rajpoot. These ministers and 14 other MLAS sent their resignations to the speaker on Tuesday. Two other Congress MLAS sent their resignation letters later. Chief minister Kamal Nath, meanwhile, wrote to home minister Amit Shah on Saturday to ensure the 22 Congress MLAS “held captive” by the BJP be released to enable them to present their case to the speaker and attend the assembly session beginning on March 16, officials said. The resignations by loyalists of Jyotiraditya Scindia dovetailed with the former Union minister’s decision to leave the Congress, ending an 18-year-old association, and join the BJP, which has fielded him as one of its three candidates for a Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh.

The BJP has demanded that Nath face a floor test to prove a majority in the House, which has an effective strength of 228. In his letter, a copy of which was accessed by HT, Nath said there was no meaning to a floor test until the 22 Congress members are released. “It’s an unprecedented situation that on one hand BJP is demanding a floor test but on the other hand they have held captive many Congress MLAS.”

He said Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon had told him the security of the MLAS (on their return to Bhopal) should be handed over to the Central Reserve Police Force.

“I can assure you that if these MLAS are released by Karnataka police I will ensure best security arrangements so that the MLAS could present their side before the speaker {of the } state assembly and take part in the assembly proceedings.”

A delegation of BJP leaders including former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, leader of the opposition in the state assembly Gopal Bhargava, and chief whip of the BJP legislature party Narottam Mishra, called on the governor on Friday and urged him to prevail over the state government to face a floor test, arguing that Nath’s government had been reduced to a minority.

“The Congress government is in a minority,” said Bhargava. “It doesn’t have a moral right to remain in power any more. If the Congress government doesn’t face a floor test and goes ahead with any other House business their act would be nothing but unconstitutional and undemocratic and thus leading to a constitutional crisis in the state.”

On Saturday, the Congress legislature party’s parliamentary affairs minister Govind Singh issued a whip to the Congress MLAS “to be present during the session beginning March 16 and vote in favour of the government in any circumstance.” The Congress has 114 MLAS against the BJP’S 107. It also has the support of four independents,two members of the BSP and one of the SP. With the resignation of six MLAS accepted, the effective strength of the House stands at 222.To prove a majority, the Congress will need the backing of 112 MLAS. A change in status of the other lawmakers may things tougher for the ruling party. Efforts by Congress leaders, including Nath, to contact the 22 MLAS have failed.

“Deferring of the state assembly [session] at least for a week or so is required as we are yet to ensure the presence of the Congress MLAS in the state assembly,” a Congress leader said. “Though technically we are still enjoying a majority in the House as the resignation of only six of the MLAS has been accepted, we will be having the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads all the time, even if there is no floor test, at the time of division of votes on the motion of thanks on the governor’s address and passage of the budget.”

A cabinet meeting has been convened on Sunday, state government officials said. The BJP alleged that the meeting has been convened to pass a resolution to defer the budget session, a charge the ruling party denied.

Former principal secretary of the state assembly Bhagwandev Israni said the state cabinet would need to take a formal decision to defer a legislative session before making a request to that effect to the Speaker and the governor. “Given the coronavirus spread and its impact across the world there should not be a problem for the government to get the session deferred. There is an example of Chhattisgarh in this regard. But it will all depend on the governor if he grants permission to a request from the government if there is really any such request,” Israni said.