Madhya Pradesh Governor Asks Kamal Nath To Take Trust Vote Tomorrow

The resignation of 22 Congress MLAs has brought the Madhya Pradesh government on the brink of collapse.

The Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh was asked by the Governor to prove its majority by Tuesday, hours after it appeared to have snagged a 10-day reprieve after the assembly session was adjourned without any trust vote until March 26 over coronavirus. The opposition BJP, which is confident it now has the majority to take power, had paraded 106 MLAs before Governor Lalji Tandon and had accused the ruling Congress of stalling to cling to power. The Supreme Court will tomorrow take up the BJP MLAs’ petition asking for a test of strength within 12 hours.

1. The Governor this morning walked out of the assembly amid slogans of “respect the house” after reading out only the last page of his address on the opening day of the budget session and urging the Congress to “follow the Constitution”.
2. “All must follow the rules under the Constitution so that dignity of Madhya Pradesh remains protected,” said the Governor, who had written to the Speaker to hold a test of strength today for the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government, which is in huge trouble after the rebellion of a group of MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia.
3. The Congress, desperate for survival, has asked for the assembly to be suspended over coronavirus. Many of its MLAs entered the house wearing masks. Long after the Governor’s walkout, the MLAs of the government and the opposition BJP remained inside, shouting slogans at each other. As they walked out, the BJP MLAs sang: “Hum Honge Kaamyab…”
4. Kamal Nath has written to the Governor calling his letter directing a trust vote unconstitutional. “It does not lie within the domain of the Governor to interfere with the functions of the Speaker,” said the Chief Minister’s six-page letter.
5. “Corona won’t save Kamal Nath’s government. He has clearly lost his majority, so he avoided a trust vote today,” said the BJP’s three-term chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan