Twenty ministers in the Madhya Pradesh cabinet resigned last night after CM Kamal Nath indicated that he is fighting back with a cabinet rejig.
Bhopal| Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, whose government fell into crisis after 16 MLAs believed to be close to senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia have whisked away to Bengaluru with their phones turned off, today tried to placate his miffed colleagues by sending feelers to the Guna royal.
Speaking to News18, Nath said there was no problem if Scindia was appointed PCC chief or even sent to the Rajya Sabha. “There will not be any problem and there was not an issue on possible assignment to Scindia earlier too,” the chief minister said.
Party sources told The Indian Express that Labour Minister Mahendra Sisodia, Women and Child Development Minister Imarti Devi, Transport Minister Govind Rajput, Health Minister Tulsi Silawat, School Education Minister Prabhuram Chaudhary, and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pradyumna Tomar were among those who have broken ties with the state Congress leadership.
The crisis is expected to intensify over the next 24 hours, with the BJP calling a meeting of its legislature party in Bhopal Tuesday evening, six days before the state Budget session starts on March 16. The Congress legislature party will also meet Tuesday.
State BJP sources told The Indian Express that “the party is now ready to play the game” and that “the national leadership is in the loop”. But a senior party leader said it was too early to say whether the state government would fall.
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Kamal Nath, meanwhile, rushed back to Bhopal after meeting Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in Delhi Monday afternoon when he was told to ensure that there is no threat to the government. Late Monday, PWD Minister Sajjan Singh Verma said that 20 Ministers attended a meeting at the Chief Minister’s official residence in Bhopal and submitted their resignations while requesting Nath to “restructure the Cabinet”.
Nath also met the other senior state leader Digvijaya Singh. Scindia remained “out of contact”, with party sources saying that his supporters have moved to Bengaluru
In the 230-member state assembly, the Kamal Nath government has 120 MLAs, just four over the majority mark of 116. 114 are from the Congress, two from the BSP, one Samajwadi Party and four are independents. The BJP has 107 MLAs and two seats are currently vacant.
If 17 exit, the Congress, which will be left with 97 MLAs, will lose its second state since Karnataka.
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