MP Assembly adjourned till March 26 amid uproar; floor test deferred

New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh Assembly was adjourned till March 26, following an uproar by the MLAs of ruling Congress after Governor Lalji Tandon’s address. Tandon had asked Chief Minister Kamal Nath to prove his government’s majority after the resignation of 22 MLAs from the party.

Chief whip of Congress legislature party, Govind Singh, spoke of the coronavirus outbreak in the Assembly, after which Speaker NP Prajapati adjourned the House till March 26.

Earlier, reading a short statement on the first day of the budget session, the Governor had said, “All must follow the rule under the Constitution so that dignity of Madhya Pradesh remains protected.” He then urged the government to go for the floor test, but the statement led to an uproar and Tandon had to leave.

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, meanwhil, 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. “The Governor expected me to meet him. 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.