Madhya Pradesh Crisis: Ready For No-Trust Vote, Says Kamal Nath After Meeting Governor: 10 Facts

Kamal Nath's government plunged into a crisis with the resignation of 22 Congress MLAs.

Highlights

Madhya Pradesh Governor walked out of assembly today
He asked Kamal Nath government to show majority by Tuesday
Assembly session adjourned till March 26 over coronavirus

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Monday said that he had the numbers after his Congress government was asked by the Governor to prove its majority by Tuesday, hours after it appeared to have snagged a 10-day breather with the assembly session being adjourned until March 26 over coronavirus. In a letter to Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Governor Lalji Tandon said: "If you don't take a floor test by March 17, it will be assumed that you have lost your majority." The Governor also called the Chief Minister's letter to him criticising him for asking the Speaker for a trust vote today as "meaningless, baseless" and against constitutional values. The Supreme Court will today hear a petition by the BJP seeking a floor test.

Here are the Top 10 points on Madhya Pradesh Government Crisis:

"Those who claim that we don't have a majority should move a no-confidence motion against my government to get the floor test done," Kamal Nath told reporters outside Raj Bhavan after meeting the governor. "I told the governor that we are ready for everything as per constitutional provisions, rules and procedures," he added.
The Governor on Monday 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". "All must follow the rules under the Constitution so that dignity of Madhya Pradesh remains protected," said the Governor.
The 15-month-old Kamal Nath government is in huge trouble after the rebellion of a group of MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia. Desperate for survival, has asked for the assembly to be suspended over coronavirus. Many of its MLAs entered the house wearing masks.
The BJP, which is confident it has the majority to take power, has gone to the Supreme Court asking for a test of strength within 12 hours. As the Congress shouted slogans and walked out of the abruptly adjourned house, the BJP MLAs sang: "Hum Honge Kaamyab...". Later, the party paraded 106 MLAs before the Governor. The petition will be taken up for hearing today by a top court bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta.
"Even 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.
Kamal Nath wrote 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. "The Governor cannot require the Speaker to discharge his functions in the manner he considers constitutionally appropriate."
22 Congress MLAs quit the party after Jyotiraditya Scindia, a long-time party leader, made a stunning switch to the BJP last week. The four-time MP had been seething for months without any government or party post in Madhya Pradesh since the Congress's state poll win in December 2018.
Only six of the 22 resignations have been accepted by the Speaker. The Congress claims the rebels have been kept captive in Bengaluru and is desperate for more time to establish contact with them and possibly, win them back. On the weekend, the Chief Minister even wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah requesting "help" to free the "kidnapped" MLAs.
The Madhya Pradesh assembly currently has 222 of 230 members and the majority mark is 112. The Congress has 108 MLAs in the House, and the support of seven allied legislators. If the resignations of all 22 MLAs are accepted, the Congress's strength will come way below the new majority mark of 104, and the BJP, with 107 MLAs, can form government.
With every vote becoming crucial, there was a commotion when an independent MLA, Shera Bhaiya, was seen sitting with the BJP MLAs. He had earlier gone to Jaipur with the Congress MLAs. He later claimed he had merely gone to greet his "BJP friends". Kamal Nath's government initially had 120 MLAs - just four over the majority mark of 116 in the full assembly. In case the government does not initiate a trust vote, the opposition can move a "no confidence motion" against the government.