MP Guv asks Assembly Speaker to conduct floor test on Monday

Bhopal (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon late on Saturday asked the Assembly Speaker Narmada Prasad Prajapati to conduct the floor test on Monday, days after 22 Congress MLAs resigned from pushing the Kamal Nath's 15-month-old government on the brink of collapse.

In view of the MP Assembly floor test, the Congress MLAs will depart to Bhopal from Jaipur in Rajasthan on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the Congress has decided to approach the Supreme Court. The Madhya Pradesh Congress has issued a whip to all its MLAs asking them to be present in the House from March 16 to April 13 during the Assembly session and vote in favour of the government during the floor test.

The Kamal Nath government in the state is on the brink of collapse after 22 MLAs, supporters of Jyotiraditya Scindia who had quit the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), resigned. These six MLAs were sacked from the Kamal Nath government after they, along with 16 other legislators, resigned in support of Scindia.

With this, the strength of the House is down to 222, with the majority mark 112. Before the rebellion early this week, the Congress's tally was 114. It also had the support of four Independent MLAs, two legislators from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and one from the Samajwadi Party (SP).

The opposition BJP had demanded a trust vote on Sunday before the session starts on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the resignations of six MLAs out of 22 rebel Congress legislators were accepted by Speaker NP Prajapati on Saturday, even as the BJP claimed the Kamal Nath government has lost majority and demanded that a floor test be held before the Budget session starts on Monday.