AGECIES, New Delhi: Embattled Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath resigned hours before the Supreme Court-mandated floor test on Friday noon. It had become clear that the Congress government did not have the numbers.
“The people of this country can see the truth behind the incident where MLAs are being held hostage in Bengaluru…The truth will come out. People will not forgive them,” he said at the press conference. Nath is expected to meet Governor Lalji Tandon and tender his official resignation at 1 pm.
“But I will continue to work for the welfare of the people,” Kamal Nath added.
His government was supposed to face a floor test after the Supreme Court ordered one in the Assembly at 5 pm on Friday. With his resignation, the BJP is now expected to stake claim to form the government in Madhya Pradesh.
The Congress veteran had, on March 19, said he would take a call on the way ahead for his government. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker N.P. Prajapati accepted the resignation of the remaining 16 MLAs loyal to former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia.
“I have accepted the resignation of the 16 MLAs who have filed petition in the Supreme Court. Based on what they have stated there, I am accepting resignation of these 16 MLAs also,” Prajapati told reporters. The Speaker had earlier accepted the resignations of six ministers who had resigned from their membership.
Pradeep Jaiswal, an independent minister, has resigned as well, seeking to distance himself from the Congress, sources said.
In the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly, the actual strength of the House at present is 228 as two seats are lying vacant. With the resignation of 16 more MLAs, the strength of Congress had come down to 92 from 108. Earlier, six ministers had resigned which brought down the ruling party’s strength from 114 to 108.
