Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Monday wrote to the Governor, claiming that the latter was overstepping powers conferred on him under the Constitution and held his “prima facie belief” of the government being in minority based on the BJP’s opinion, while ignoring the Congress government’s charge against it.
In the evening, Governor Lalji Tandon shot back a letter to him expressing regret that the language and tone of Mr. Nath’s letter was “not in consonance with parliamentary propriety.”
The sparring began as Mr. Tandon, after a BJP delegation met him, on Sunday directed Mr. Nath to hold a floor test and prove majority in the Vidhan Sabha in any condition on Monday, without attempting to stall the vote. And with the session adjourned, Mr. Tandon has now requested him to prove majority in the Vidhan Sabha by Tuesday. “Otherwise it will be held that in reality you don’t have a majority in the house,” he wrote.
Mr. Nath stated that he was surprised that the Governor believed prima facie the government had lost the majority. “It appears that you believed this based on information received from the BJP. In this relation, legal provisions are clear that the Governor cannot take notice of any such group separated from the main party which does not fulfil the parameters (two-third majority] laid down in the Schedule 10. The reality is that in the present conditions, this group is in the clutches of the BJP. That is why it is inappropriate for you to reach such a prima facie conclusion.”
In the light of the perspective given by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, wrote Mr. Nath, the letter given by the Governor “appears to be beyond powers conferred on the Governor under the Constitution.”
Besides, he said, it was a matter of public concern the BJP had possibly “given bribes, lurements and restricted” several Congress MLAs, as he had explained in the previous letter.
He stated that with “utter sadness” and “anguish”, that far from finding a solution to the “illegal conducts like restrictions on my MLAs”, the Governor had not even mentioned it in his letter.
Mr. Nath further wrote that he was also surprised that in Mr. Tandon’s direction, in the form of a message, he had expectations from him on matters pertaining to the Vidhan Sabha’s functioning which, in his opinion, fell in the domain of the Speaker.
“I hope and have faith that your honour will work according to law and the Constitution in the future,” he wrote.
Mr. Nath pointed out to the Governor that by holding several Congress MLAs “hostage” under the control of the police, the BJP was compelling them to make statements. “...In such a situation that there is no point in holding a floor test of any kind and doing this would be unconstitutional and undemocratic. A floor test will be justified when all MLAs are free from restrictions and duress.”
Tandon’s Assembly address
After his address in the Assembly on Monday, Mr. Tandon advised MLAs that given the turmoil in the State, those with responsibility should “work independently” and “stick to constitutional principles”. He held the reasons given by Mr. Nath for his inability to hold a test as “baseless” and “meaningless”.
Mr. Tandon wrote: “You didn’t initiate the process to seek a trust vote of the Assembly and didn’t make meaningful efforts towards it”.
When the question arises if a government had the trust of the House or not, he said, the Supreme Court, in several undisputed orders, had established the answer laid in floor test.
