The Madhya Pradesh Assembly was on Monday adjourned till March 26 over coronavirus (Covid-19) concerns without a floor test. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Govind Singh raised the issue of coronavirus threat in the country and also mentioned the Central government’s advisory.
The speaker accepted Singh’s plea and adjourned the House till March 26, according to PTI.
Following this, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) moved the Supreme Court. The top court has agreed to hear tomorrow the BJP plea seeking floor test.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other BJP legislators also met Governor Lalji Tandon and requested him to conduct a floor test at the earliest. “The government has lost majority and has no right to remain in power,” Chouhan was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Governor Lalji Tandon had on Saturday night directed Chief Minister Kamal Nath to seek a trust vote in the House immediately after his address on the first day of the Budget session on Monday.
In an address to the Assembly, the Governor said, “All must follow the rules under the Constitution so that dignity of Madhya Pradesh remains protected.”
The floor test was necessitated after 22 MLAs of the Congress resigned following Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from the party. These MLAs also include six ministers of the Kamal Nath cabinet, whose resignation was accepted by Speaker NP Prajapati on Saturday.
The strength of the House has now been reduced to 222 and the new majority mark is 112. The BJP has 107 seats and the Congress now has 108.
16 of the 22 MLAs, according to PTI, requested the Speaker to accept their resignations. In their letters to the speaker, the MLAs said they were unable to be present in person before him due to the “poor” law and order situation in the state.
(With PTI inputs)