MP Crisis: Kamal Nath meets Governor, says govt in majority; rules out floor test

Bhopal, Mar 16: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath met Governor Lalji Tandon on Monday and claimed that his government enjoys majority, ruling out holding a floor test in the assembly.

Nath also dared the opposition BJP to table a no- confidence motion against his 15-month-old Congress government if they wanted to test its strength in the house.

'I met the Governor, we discussed current political issues. I thanked him for his address in Assembly today. I said we're ready for things within the constitution, but we can't go outside its purview,'' Kamal Nath told reporters.

'We have the numbers. If BJP has any doubt they can bring no-confidence motion.'' Launching attack on BJP Kamal Nath said, ''What problem do the 16 MLAs (rebel Congress MLAs) have? They should come before you and put forth their opinion,'' he added.

Earlier in the day, Governor Tandon had issued a fresh directive to beleaguered Chief Minister Kamal Nath to hold a floor test in the assembly on Tuesday as a 'letter war' raged between the two constitutional functionaries amid political turmoil in the state.

The governor said failure to hold a floor test will mean the chief minister does not enjoy majority in the house.

The assembly was adjourned till March 26 after the state government raised concerns over the coronavirus threat without taking up the confidence motion as demanded by the BJP.

The 15-month-old Nath government, plunged into political crisis after the defection of Jyotiraditya Scindia to the BJP last week coincided with the resignations of 22 Congress lawmakers. Six of these have been accepted.