MP Congress MLAs may present themselves before Governor

Bhopal, March 16 In what could be more trouble for the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, the rebel Congress MLAs who have been lodged in a Bengaluru resort for the last few days are likely to return to Bhopal and present themselves before Governor Lalji Tandon.

The rebel Congress MLAs are also likely to interact with the media in Bengaluru.

Arvind Bhadauria, the BJP legislator who accompanied them to Bengaluru, said, "Legislators are not captive there. They have been sending messages and presenting their viewpoints. They can interact with the media and may also present themselves to the Governor."

Sources close to former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said that a chartered plane is being readied in Bengaluru to bring them back to Bhopal, just waiting for the nod from Scindia.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "Kamal Nath government is in minority. Kamal Nath has the support of only 92 MLAs, while the BJP has 106."

"We have paraded our MLAs before the governor. The Congress is running away from proving majority on the floor of the House. The governor assured that the constitutional rights of the legislators will be protected," Chouhan added.

Experts say that if the 16 Congress rebel MLAs present themselves before the governor and express no confidence in the government, the number of MLAs against the government will rise to 122 and the government will fall.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition filed by Shivraj Singh Chouhan and others for an urgent floor test after Madhya Pradesh Speaker N.P. Prajapati adjourned the House till March 26, the day of the voting for the Rajya Sabha elections.

Most of the 22 MLAs who have resigned from the Assembly represent seats in and around the Gwalior-Chambal region and swear allegiance to Scindia. They include Rajvardhan Singh, Hardeep Dang, Bisahulal Singh, Aidal Singh Kansana, Ranveer Jatav, Kamlesh Jatav, Raghuraj Kansana, Munnalal Goyal, O. P. S. Bhadoriya, Giriraj Dandotiya, Brijendra Singh Yadav, Suresh Dhakad, Jajpal Singh 'Jajji', Manoj Chaudhary, Jasmant Jatav, Raksha Santram Sarauniya, Mahendra Singh Sisodiya, Tulsiram Silawat, Govind Singh Rajput, Imarti Devi, Prabhuram Chaudhary and Pradyumna Singh Tomar. Six of them have been sacked from the party.

( With inputs from IANS )