Madhya Pradesh floor test: The Congress-led government has
been pushed to the brink following the resignation of 22 MLAs. Stay tuned for
MP political crisis LIVE updates at Kavart Media.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and other MLAs assemble at the
State Assembly in Bhopal. Photo: ANI
Madhya Pradesh Political
Crisis LIVE Updates: Former Madhya
Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh arrived at the
Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Wednesday to meet rebel
Congress MLAs. Addressing the media after he was not given the permission to
sit on a dharna, Singh said, "My 22 MLAs have been held captive here in
Bengaluru. They want to talk to me. Their phones have been snatched. Allow me
to meet them."
Earlier, Governor Lalji
Tandon had sent a letter to Assembly Speaker N P Prajapati on Wednesday,
praising him for taking an "impartial and courageous" decision in
accepting the resignations of six ministers. After former Union minister
Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress, 22 MLAs of the ruling party also
submitted their resignations, pushing the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government to
the brink of a collapse. Of them, the speaker has accepted the resignations of
six MLAs.
The governor had asked
Chief Minister Kamal Nath to face a floor test on Tuesday. Following this, Nath
rushed to meet him at Raj Bhavan, where he assured Tandon that he had the
numbers for a test.
"If someone says, that
we (Congress) don't have the numbers, they can bring the no-confidence motion,
why should I conduct a floor test? What problem do the 16 (rebel Congress) MLAs
have? They should put forth their opinion," he said.
On Monday, the state
legislative Assembly had been adjourned until March 26 in view of the
coronavirus pandemic.
11:00 AM
Supreme Court begins hearing the petition filed by former
Madhya Pradesh CM & BJP leader, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and others to hold
floor test in the State Assembly.
08:01 AM
Kamal Nath, Lalji Tandon in
war of letters over MP political crisis
In the age of e-mail, two
constitutional functionaries of Madhya Pradesh — Chief Minister Kamal Nath and
governor Lalji Tandon (pictured) — are probably trying to revive the lost era
of letter writing. In the last one week itself, both have written several letters
to one another. On Monday, Tandon wrote to Nath, asking him to hold a floor
test on Tuesday and stating that failure to do so would mean the chief minister
did not enjoy a majority in the Assembly. On Tuesday, Nath replied:
“Keeping into account all
facts, I have forwarded your direction to me to the Assembly Speaker for an
appropriate action.” He also marked a copy of this letter to the Speaker, N P
Prajapati. Before this exchange, Nath had shot off a letter to Union Home
Minister Amit Shah. “Please use your power as the Union Home Minister so that
Congress MLAs held captive can safely reach Madhya Pradesh and participate in
the Assembly session without any allurement and fear,” he said.
03:10 PM
Mukul Rohatgi says Congress
wants rebel MLAs to go to Bhopal so that they can be lured and it can do horse
trading
02:49 PM
MP Cong in SC seeks
deferment of trust vote till by-polls, says heavens won't fall if govt
continues
Madhya Pradesh Congress
Party sought in the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the trust vote in the state
assembly be deferred till by-polls for the vacant seats are concluded, saying
"heavens are not going to fall" if its government led by Kamal Nath
is allowed to remain in office till then.
A bench, comprising
Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta, was hearing cross petitions filed by
former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh
Chouhan and MP Congress on the ongoing political crisis in the state after 22
rebel MLAs of the ruling combine purportedly offered to resign.
"Heavens are not going
to fall if Congress government is allowed to continue till by-polls and the
Shivraj Singh Chouhan's government must not be saddled on the people,"
said senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for Congress.
02:44 PM
We came to Bengaluru
voluntarily, say Congress rebel MLAs
Rebel Congress MLAs from
Madhya Pradesh who are staying at a resort in Bengaluru, on Wednesday said they
went there voluntarily.
Issuing video messages, the
rebels said they didn't want to meet senior party leader Digvijay Singh who was
briefly detained near the resort this morning.
Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Kamal Nath and other leaders of the Congress have been claiming that
the rebel MLAs were being held in captivity by BJP.
01:03 PM
A Congress delegation to
meet Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon today at 1.45 PM
12:55 PM
Probe needed on resignation
letters of rebel MLAs submitted to Speaker: MP Congress tells SC
The Madhya Pradesh Congress
on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that a probe is needed on the resignation
letters of its rebel MLAs submitted by BJP leaders to the Speaker of the state
Assembly.
The Congress Party alleged
before a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta that resignations
of its rebel MLAs in Madhya Pradesh were extracted by force and coercion and
they did not act as per their free will.
12:42 PM
Kailash Vijayvargiya takes
dig at Digvijaya
BJP general secretary
Kailash Vijayvargiya has taken a dig at senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh
who tried to meet rebel Congress MLAs lodged at a resort in Bengaluru on
Wednesday morning leading to dramatic scenes at the resort with police dragging
him away and taking him into preventive detention.
Vijayavargiya tweeted:
"Drama in Bengaluru. We are blessed that this man is in politics. He would
have proved to be a better actor than Amitabh Bachchan if he were in
bollywood," referring to Digvijaya Singh who reached Bengaluru on
Wednesday morning tried to enter into a five star hotel where rebel Congress
MLAs are putting up.
