Kamal Nath has summoned all Congress members to Bhopal for a show of strength (File)
Highlights
- "My ministers believe in the politics of principles," said Kamal Nath
- 10 MLAs were allegedly spirited away by the BJP
- The Congress said it managed to recover six of them
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Friday said the resignation of an MLA and the disappearance of three others will not threaten the longevity of his government.
"My ministers are not for sale. They believe in the politics of principles and service. We (Congress) create our identity on politics we can be proud of and firmly say that we are from the state of Madhya Pradesh," he said at an event in the state.
"Today, we have to make sure the standards of politics do not drop," he added.
10 MLAs were allegedly spirited away by the BJP in an effort to bring down the government on Tuesday. The Congress said it managed to recover six of the MLAs from a hotel in Gurgaon, near Delhi, after a late-night operation on Tuesday.
Hardeep Dang, Raghuraj Kansana, Bisahulal Singh and Independent member Shera Bhaiya remained missing. On Thursday, Mr Dang resigned as an MLA, claiming he was being ignored by the party. "None of the ministers are ready to work as they are part of a corrupt government," his letter read.
According to sources, there could be a cabinet expansion or reshuffle to pacify disgruntled MLAs of the Congress and its allies. It is not clear if the expansion will take before the budget session of the assembly.
Concerned by three missing MLAs, Kamal Nath has summoned all Congress members to Bhopal for a show of strength.
Meanwhile, State Minister Mahendra Sisodia on Friday said there was no threat to the Kamal Nath government. He, however, said the "government will be in crisis the day Jyotiraditya Scindia is ignored or dishonoured."
The Kamal Nath government has 120 MLAs -- four over the majority mark of 116 in the 230-member assembly. Of them, 114 are from the Congress, two from the BSP, one from the Samajwadi Party and four independents. The BJP has 107 MLAs and two seats are currently vacant. If the three other missing MLAs resign, it would bring down the number in the assembly to 224 and the majority mark to 113.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said on Friday that his party's government was completely safe despite the BJP's efforts to lure away MLAs. "It is Operation Moneybags, not Operation Lotus by the BJP. Our government is safe and we will run the government for five years. They (BJP) used to say we will not last even three months," said the former Chief Minister.