As speaker cites corona, MP govt ducks floor test
TNN | Mar 17, 2020, 04.58 AM IST
BHOPAL: The Kamal Nath government on Monday dodged a floor test when speaker N P Prajapati adjourned the assembly till March 26 in view of the Coronavirus threat. The House will now reconvene on the day of Rajya Sabha election.
BJP promptly moved Supreme Court, seeking disqualification of the Congress government for "ignoring the governor's instruction to conduct a floor test", and paraded its 106 MLAs at Raj Bhawan. Soon after this, governor Lalji Tandon wrote to CM Nath, asking him to hold the floor test on March 17. "Otherwise, it will be considered that you don't have majority," the governor warned.
After receiving the letter, Nath called a meeting of top Congress ministers and then left for Raj Bhawan. After meeting the governor, the CM said: "I discussed the present political scenario in the state with the governor and thanked him for his address to the House."
Asked about the governor's letter for floor test on Tuesday, the CM said: "Why should I go for floor test? There is a provision that the Opposition can ask for no-confidence motion. Let them do the floor-test if they want. They (BJP) asked for a no-confidence motion today. And what about the 16 MLAs who have been confined by BJP? Let them come before the media and the House."
The CM reiterated that his government is in majority. Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's petition seeking "immediate floor test to avoid horse-trading". Suspense persists on the rebel Congress MLAs in Bengaluru. The day began with the assembly convening at 11am. The Coronavirus divide was clear. Most Congress MLAs were seen wearing masks. BJP legislators didn't.