Madhya Pradesh crisis: Speaker 'duty-bound', resignations of MLAs will be tested by him, says SC

The Congress on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the rebel Madhya Pradesh MLAs should face re-election first and then the floor test can be held. During the hearing in the Supreme Court on the matter,  the Congress party accused the BJP of "hijacking democracy" through money and muscle power. Appearing for the Congress, senior Advocate Dushyant Dave demanded the matter be referred to a larger bench.

Hitting back at the Congress, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that the Kamal Nath-led MP government was stalling a trust vote they could not hope to win. A two-judge bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud said the resignations of the MLAs would have to be tested by the Speaker, who is "duty-bound to conduct an inquiry".

The top court was hearing a plea filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seeking trust vote after the Madhya Pradesh Assembly got adjourned for 10 days in view of coronavirus outbreak, giving the Kamal Nath-led government a breather. Governor Lalji Tondon has also asked Chief Minister Kamal Nath to hold the floor test to prove his majority.

In his second letter, the Governor opined that if the CM didn't hold the trust vote on March 17, it will be considered he has lost the majority in the house. Replying to the Governor, Nath said that the Governor's letter was against the parliamentary decorum and accused him of "pre-determining" that his government is already in a minority.

At least 22 MLAs of Congress, including six ministers loyal to Jyotiradtiya Scindia, had tendered their resignations earlier this month, putting the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government on the brink of collapse. While the Speaker has accepted the resignations of the six ministers, he has asked the other 16 rebel MLAs to appear before him. The MLAs are holed up in a Bengaluru hotel.

Following the acceptance of resignations of the six legislators, the Congress now has 108 MLAs, including the 16 rebels who have pledged their loyalty to Scindia, now a BJP leader. The BJP has 107 lawmakers in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly and the saffron party is hoping to topple the Kamal Nath government, which would come in the minority if the resignations of the remaining 16 MLAs are accepted. The 230-member state legislative Assembly now has an effective strength of 222 and the majority mark has come down to 112.

Drama in Bengaluru as Digvijay Singh dragged away by police

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh had visited the Bengaluru hotel to meet the dissenting lawmakers. Singh was denied entry into the hotel following which he sat on a Dharna in front of the hotel entrance. The police, however, dragged him away and took the Congress leader into preventive custody.  Singh alleged that some of the MLAs told him that they were being held captive and that their phones have been snatched away.

"We were expecting them to come back, but when we saw they're being held back, messages came from their families. I personally spoke to five MLAs. They said they're captive and that their phones have been snatched away. There is Police in front of every room. They're being followed 24/7," he said.

He also tweeted that he will be on a hunger strike until allowed to meet the MLAs. "I demand that we must be allowed to meet our MLAs who are in BJP's captivity. I announce my hunger strike until we are allowed to meet our MLAs. We live in democracy, not dictatorship," Singh tweeted.