SC issues notices to CM Nath, Speaker

■ Continued from Page 1 notice on the plea by Mr Chouhan and nine other BJP MLAs, it also ordered that a copy of the impleadment application by 16 rebel Congress MLAs seeking the acceptance of their resignations be served on the Speaker and the chief minister.

Appearing for the 16 rebel MLAs, senior counsel Maninder Singh told the court: “We aren’t there on our own violition. As six resignations are accepted, why were the others not accepted?”

Mr Singh said 22 Congress MLAs had resigned from the Assembly and the resignations of six MLAs have already been accepted, so the remaining 16 MLAs also want their resignations to be accepted.

As senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi expressed the fear that the Speaker and chief minister may not accept the notice, the court ordered the notices also be served through email. The court also granted liberty to serve the notice to the standing counsel of Madhya Pradesh.

Seeking a direction to Speaker Prajapati and chief minister Kamal Nath to hold the floor test within “12 hours of the passing of the order” by the Supreme Court and as per the “direction” issued by the governor on March 14 and 15, Mr Chouhan has questioned the Speaker’s decision to adjourn the proceedings of the Assembly till March 26 citing the coronavirus threat.

Seeking the protection of their fundamental rights as guaranteed under the Constitution’s Article 14 and 19, the petitioners contended that the Speaker and chief minister had “flagrantly violated the constitutional principles and have deliberately and willfully defied the directions issued” by the governor on March 14 mandating the chief minister to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly on March 16.

Referring to the recent political turmoil in the state Congress and the resignation by 22 Congress MLAs, the petition says the ruling side led by Kamal Nath has “no moral, legal, democratic or constitutional right to remain in power even for a single day”. The petition by Mr Chouhan alleged “horsetrading” was at its “peak” as chief minister Kamal Nath was making all possible attempts to “convert his minority government into a majority by giving all possible threats, allurements” to the members of the Assembly.

Besides Mr Chouhan, the other petitioners are Gopal Bhargava, Narottam Mishra, Bhupendra Singh, Rameshwar Sharma, Vishnu Khatri, Vishwas Sarang, Sanjay Satyendra Pathak, Krishna Gaur and Suresh Rai.