Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has moved Supreme Court after the floor test in Madhya Pradesh was delayed following the adjournment of the state Assembly. The Assembly, which had assembled on Monday morning for the beginning of the budget session, was adjourned till March 26 after Governor Lalji Tandon’s address.
In his address, the Governor appealed to members: “All must follow the rules under the Constitution so that dignity of Madhya Pradesh remains protected.”
Just after the brief address of the Governor, MLAs of the BJP raised the demand for a floor test, triggering an uproar. The Governor then left the Assembly.
Though the proceedings lasted for 15 minutes on Monday, the House had to be adjourned for five minutes in between due to continuous uproar by BJP and Congress MLAs.
Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Leader of the Opposition Gopal Bhargava requested Speaker NP Prajapati to conduct a floor test as directed by the Governor. But the Speaker did not entertain the request saying, “Whatever correspondence has taken place is between you and the Governor, not with the Speaker.”
Bhargava had earlier said that Chief Minister Kamal Nath should tender his resignation on moral grounds as his government lacks the majority.
The state plunged into a political crisis after Jyotiraditya Scindia, a prominent face of the Congress, resigned from the party last week to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Scindia’s decision to leave the Congress was followed by the resignation of 22 party MLAs loyal to him. But Speaker NP Prajapati selectively accepted the resignations, hinting at intrigues in store.
Only six of the 22 Congress legislators’ resignations, sent through BJP members, have been accepted so far. Prajapati has been non-committal on ordering a floor test.
The BJP claims that the Congress, which had 114 MLAs in the House with an effective strength of 228, has been reduced to a minority government following the resignation of 22 of its legislators and demanded that a floor test should be held.
The Congress, meanwhile, said that it is not afraid of the floor test, but wants the Speaker to decide on it. The same was conveyed by Chief Minister Kamal Nath to the Governor during their midnight meeting on Sunday. “A floor test will be decided by the Speaker. The Speaker will discharge his duties and I will do mine,” Kamal Nath said after meeting Tandon.
The Congress has said that the crisis in the state is manufactured by the BJP. “We are not afraid of the floor test and are ready for it. Chief Minister Kamal Nath has said that we are ready for the floor test,” Madhya Pradesh Minister PC Sharma said ahead of the Assembly session on Monday.
The Congress has said it is the Speaker’s prerogative to decide about the proceedings of the House and the BJP maintained that the Speaker has to follow the Governor’s direction.