The Congress has countered Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Supreme Court with a petition, saying that the floor test cannot take place in Madhya Pradesh because 16 of its lawmakers have been held captive in Bengaluru.
“The floor test can happen only when all the elected lawmakers are present in the Assembly,” the Congress said in its petition. It further said that 22 of its lawmakers have resigned, and a trust vote can be held only after by-elections to those constituencies are held.
The petition has been filed by Congress’ chief whip Govind Singh against BJP-ruled central and Karnataka governments. The Congress has urged the Supreme Court to intervene to uphold the rule of law against the “blatant abuse of power” and “subversion of democracy” by the BJP.
The BJP has claimed that the Congress-ruled government in Madhya Pradesh has come in minority after the resignation of 22 MLAs, and want a trust vote in the state Assembly. The Congress has said that it is not afraid of the floor test as the government has the numbers, but want the Speaker to take a call on it.
The Assembly’s budget session began on Monday, but was curtailed by Speaker NP Prajapati over coronavirus fears. The House was adjourned till March 26, and trust vote delayed, after which the BJP moved Supreme Court seeking direction to the state government to hold the trust vote.
Governor Lalji Tandon had written to Chief Minister Kamal Nath on March 14, asking for the floor test to be held on March 16 (Monday). But, after the Assembly was abruptly adjourned, the trust vote could not take place. The BJP has accused the Congress of defying the Governor’s order, but the state government has maintained that the call to hold the trust vote should be taken by the Speaker only.
