6 mantris sacked, Nath seeks release of rebels
The political crisis in Madhya Pradesh triggered by the resignation of 22 rebel Congress MLAs in allegiance with Jyotiraditya Scindia, started inching towards its endgame on Friday with six ministers in the Kamal Nath government getting the marching orders, and a delegation of BJP MLAs meeting the governor to urge him to call for a floor test. They said that the Kamal Nath government has been reduced to a minority following the resignation of 22 Congress MLAs. The chief minister, meanwhile, submitted a three-page letter to governor Lalji Tandon demanding that he secure the “release” of 22 Congress MLAs who, he claimed, were being “held hostage” in a resort in Bengaluru.
The governor dropped the six Cabinet ministers in the state government following the recommendation of Mr Kamal Nath, an official spokesman here said.
The six mantris are among the 22 rebel Congress MLAs who remain ensconced in a resort in Bengaluru, Karnataka. These 22 legislators had earlier sent their resignation to the Speaker of the Assembly as well as the governor.
Currently, the magic mark in the 230-strong Assembly is 116. The Congress had a thin margin with 120 MLAs. But if the resignations of the 22 MLAs is accepted, the majority mark will fall to 104, making way for the BJP to state its claim at forming the government with its 107 MLAs.
Those sacked from the Kamal Nath Cabinet on Friday were Imarti Devi,
■ Continued from Page 1 Tulsi Silawat, Govind Singh Rajput, Mahendra Singh Sisodia, Pradyumna Singh Tomar and Prabhram Choudhury.
Their portfolios were redistributed among other ministers in the state ministry.
The chief minister meanwhile submitted a three-page letter to the governor demanding initiative by the latter to secure the “release” of 22 Congress MLAs who, he said, were being “held hostage” in a resort in Bengaluru.
Mr Nath accused the BJP of indulging in “horse-trading” of Congress MLAs to topple his government, describing the Opposition party’s actions as “immoral, unethical and illegal”.
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party had earlier made such attempt to destabilise his government.
“In the first attempt, several ruling party MLAs were lured by the BJP with money to switch sides to pull down my government. They were kept in a hotel in Haryana. In the fresh move on March 8, 19 Congress MLAs were taken to Bengaluru in a charted plane and lodged in a resort in Bengaluru”, he added.
The chief minister said his government was prepared to face the floor test in the ensuing Budget session of the Assembly, scheduled to commence on March 16, to prove its majority.
In another development, a delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs met the governor on Friday and urged him to call for a floor test by the Kamal Nath government, saying that it has been reduced to a minority following the resignation of 22 Congress MLAs.