As many as 22 Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh resigned from the Assembly on Tuesday, plunging the government into a crisis.
As soon as Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the primary membership of the party early in the morning after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi , 13 MLAs and six Ministers owing allegiance to him, sent-in their resignations to the Governor via email, Raj Bhavan sources confirmed.
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Later in day, BJP leaders handed over hard copies of the letters to Assembly Speaker N.P. Prajapati.
Following the resignations, Chief Minister Kamal Nath requested Governor Lalji Tandon to issue orders for the removal of the six Ministers, who had resigned as lawmakers, from the Cabinet. Three other MLAs also submitted their resignations to the Speaker.
While the State BJP office witnessed a flurry of activity, the Congress office in the State capital was shuttered and padlocked. Later in the afternoon, angry party workers broke Mr Scindia’s nameplate and burnt his effigy outside it.
‘Shah to blame’
As the government teetered on the edge of collapse, the Congress held a Legislature Party meeting in the evening that was attended by 92 MLAs, including four independents.
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Four Congress MLAs were missing from the meeting, sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said. Omkar Singh Markam, one of the 16 Ministers who had resigned on Monday night to enable Chief Minister Kamal Nath to rejig the Cabinet, told reporters outside the Chief Minister’s residence, “Our mission is to serve the people, not go after power. Congress gave us democracy, fought for independence. It will continue fighting.”
He also blamed Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for scripting the on-going political turmoil in the government.
“They play pressure politics, the Congress doesn’t,” he added.
Following their resignation, the 19 Scindia loyalists wrote to the Director General of the Police, Karnataka, requesting protection during their stay in Karnataka.
In a photograph from the resort where the lawmakers have been lodged, former BJP Minister Bhupendra Singh was seen showing the victory sign along with others.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who had helmed the BJP government for the past 15 years before the Congress wrested it in December 2018, distanced the BJP from the resignations , terming it an internal matter.
“Our priority at present is the Rajya Sabha election,” he clarified at his residence, where Bisahulal Singh, four-time Congress MLA and former Minister, announced his resignation and pledged support to the BJP.
Another State BJP leader Sanjay Pathak asked how Mr. Scindia could endure being disrespected within the Congress for so long. “Congress has always indulged in vendetta politics, targetted BJP leaders in the State. Whereas, we have worked for the State’s development,”
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who has last week flagged a purported poaching bid by the BJP , claimed to have proof of the party ferrying the 19 MLAs to Karnataka.
