Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath Wednesday said he had foreseen Jyotiraditya Scindia’s departure from the party and that he is in touch with some of the “rebel” Congress MLAs, who he said were “being held hostage” at the Ramada Resort in Bengaluru.
Nath also expressed confidence that his government enjoys a majority in the assembly.
“Well, obviously, they are holding MLAs in captivity. They (MLAs) cannot meet anybody. Today, Digvijaya Singh, a Rajya Sabha candidate, wanted to meet all MLAs, from the BJP and the Congress. Is he a security threat to the MLAs? They are not allowing him to meet the legislators,” Nath told ThePrint in Bhopal.
“This is the kind of captivity that the MLAs are being kept in. They are being asked to make statements and write letters saying they have resigned.”
Dismissing the claims of former CM and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan that the MLAs are in Bengaluru of their own volition, and have resigned, Nath said: “Well, under coercion. We know what they are being made to do. Some of them are in touch with me also. And if they are free, why can’t you go and meet them? Can you walk down and meet them?”
When asked whether dissolution of the assembly is also an option, Nath replied in the affirmative. “Well, all options are open. Let’s see how it rolls out. My government has been in majority and we have demonstrated that many times in the last 16 months,” he said.
“If somebody stands up and says you’re not in majority, please move a no-confidence motion. Let’s debate it. And let’s have a vote on the no-confidence motion with all the MLAs. Why are they afraid to bring the MLAs to the floor of the House to vote?”
Also read: How Congress is desperately trying to save CM Kamal Nath’s govt in Madhya Pradesh
The numbers game
There has been speculation about the numerical strength of the Kamal Nath government since it was hit with 22 resignations, including six ministers, earlier this month.
While the resignations of the ministers have been accepted, those of the remaining 16 MLAs who are lodged at the Ramada Resort remain pending.
The MP assembly has 230 seats but two fell vacant following the death of the incumbents. Before the current political crisis in the state, the Congress had 114 MLAs and the BJP 107.
The acceptance of the resignations of the six ministers has effectively reduced the strength of the House to 222 seats and brought the majority mark to 112.
Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon has since written several times to the CM asking him to prove majority.
“Why should I prove the majority when I have the majority? It is the BJP that says I don’t have the numbers,” Nath said. “Let them prove that I don’t have a majority.”
He also refused to comment on whether the governor’s actions were fair. “I don’t want to comment on the governor. It’s for the people to see; the public to see,” he said.
On the BJP allegations that his government is using the coronavirus outbreak to buy time and poach its MLAs, Nath retorted: “This is a joke. Have I brought about the coronavirus? All the actions that are being taken in Delhi, all the assemblies that have been adjourned in the adjoining states, have they all happened because of me?
“The coronavirus is a real threat with the Government of India also sending out advisories,” he added. “The National Capital Region is saying no more than 50 people should assemble. Section 144 has been imposed; now that’s not because of me.”
When asked how the Parliament was still functioning, Nath said that it was for the Parliament to decide but he cited the example of other state assemblies that have been adjourned, including those in bordering states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Odisha among others.
‘Knew of Scindia’s plans’
The chief minister also said he had an inkling about Scindia’s plan to quit the Congress. “I thought I smelt it in the last couple of months. I thought he would take a decision based on wisdom, and keeping his future in mind. He’s taken a decision,” Nath said.
He admitted to having met Scindia days before the latter left the Congress. “I did have a meeting with him eight days before he took this step; there was no tension in the meeting. But I suppose he was looking for more than what the Congress could offer him,” he said.
Nath dismissed the charges made by Scindia that the manifesto promises were not met and that there was rampant corruption.
“Around 350 or 370 promises have been kept and a manifesto is for five years. It’s not for five months,” he said. “No state in this country has implemented its manifesto the way we have done and it is all before the people. And in the end, it’s not what X says or Y says or what I say. In the end, people know the reality.”
The chief minister further said that he has no knowledge of anyone else in the Congress wanting to leave the party. “So many leaders across the country in the Congress party are in touch with me, I don’t see any discontent,” he said.
He also downplayed the criticism of the Congress central leadership.
“The leadership is doing what it can,” he said. “At different times, the leadership has to play different roles. Just now it’s only six or seven months after Parliamentary elections. So leadership has looked at it from that perspective. Two years later, it’s another perspective. So I’m sure the leadership will play that role.”
Asked how he is managing things all on his own without the central leadership, the chief minister said: “Well, I am the man on the spot. I’m the one who has to manage it”.
Also read: Scindia’s entry hurts BJP and Modi more than any other dynast’s. Here is why
‘Shivraj desperate to become CM’
When asked about Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s advice to quit gracefully, Nath responded by saying: “My advice to Shivraj will be: ‘Stop being desperate to become CM again’. Not only will you not become CM, but you’ll also be rejected once again. This money game of using cash and all kind of influence, and capturing of MLAs is being seen by the public”.
On BJP’s charges that he’s running the government along with Digvijaya Singh as a private limited company, Nath said. “The same MLAs 10 days ago were saying something else in their speeches? They said the maximum work has been done. So what else can they say?”
He, instead, accused Chouhan of outsourcing his government when he was in power. “Shivraj Singh Chouhan is desperate to become chief minister. He’s saying anything and everything,” he said. “I’m running the government currently and everybody has a style of running a government. Shivraj Singh had outsourced his government. I haven’t done that. Let Shivraj Singh not dream too much and live in a fool’s paradise.”
Also read: Spa, yoga, cricket, TV — how MP’s Congress, BJP MLAs bide time as power hangs in balance
If he said this BEFORE the SC order, then it was premature chest thumping, brought down to earth with a thud by the SC. If this was AFTER the SC order, ii is meaningless because he has to now PROVE it on the Floor of the Assembly, not to a scribe with his bluff.
I don’t think CM Kamal Nath is upholding constitutional principles. 22 MLAs have crossed over to the other side. He needs to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly at the earliest, not at leisure. That is a norm the apex court itself has often enforced. If the CM and Shri Digvijaya Singh were aware that Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia had rebellion brewing in his heart, they ought to have defused the crisis. Unlike the somewhat sordid drama that unfolded in Karnataka, this operation tastes like a good single malt.
Joke of the week: – Why should I prove majority, I have it.
Well its not your personal house, need to “prove” majority! The sense of entitlement these guys have!