Bhopal: As the political tug-of-war in Madhya Pradesh continued, assembly speaker N.P. Prajapati wrote a letter to governor Lalji Tandon, urging him to ensure the return of “missing” MLAs, whose resignations he said, are under his consideration. Meanwhile, Tandon also wrote to the speaker, praising Prajapati for his “impartial and courageous” decision in accepting the resignations of six ministers.
In the letter released to the media on Tuesday evening, Prajapati said doubts prevail whether these MLAs, who are currently in Bengaluru, resigned on their own volition.
Prajapati’s missive is the latest edition in the “letter war” that is going on in the state between Tandon and chief minister Kamal Nath over the last few days.
The ruling Congress has claimed that some of its MLAs have been kept in “captivity” by the BJP in the Karnataka capital, a charge denied by the opposition party. In the wake of resignations, the BJP has asked the Kamal Nath government to seek a trust vote in the assembly.
In the letter, Prajapati stated, “I request you, being a working head and guardian of the state, to take solid steps in a bid to ensure the return of missing MLAs and to address the doubts of family members and acquaintances (of these MLAs).”
Prajapati said no family member was present when the resignations of these MLAs were submitted to him.
“But, these legislators posted several videos on social media. This has raised doubts if these resignation letters were written under pressure. If these resignations were submitted voluntarily, why no family member was present during the submission,” he asked.
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The speaker said the family members of some of these “missing” MLAs have expressed concern about their well-being.
Prajapati said he received the resignation letters of 16 Congress legislators from “other people” (other than their relatives or family members). He also said he had directed these MLAs to meet him in person, but they did not do so. They were also absent from the assembly whose budget session commenced on March 16.
“This is a matter of concern,” he added.
After former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress, 22 MLAs of the ruling party, also submitted their resignations, pushing the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government to the brink of collapse.
Of these, the speaker has accepted the resignations of six MLAs who were also ministers.
These 22 rebel Congress MLAs on Tuesday morning held a press conference in Bengaluru claiming they had voluntarily submitted their resignation letters.
The speaker’s letter came after the governor directed Kamal Nath twice since Saturday to face the trust vote in the house.
However, the chief minister, after meeting Tandon on Monday night, claimed his government enjoys majority and ruled out holding a floor test in the assembly.
In response, Tandon sent a letter to Prajapati in the early hours of Wednesday, praising him for taking an “impartial and courageous” decision in accepting the resignations of six ministers.
“I can appreciate your concern for the security of the missing MLAs in view of their absence from the House as mentioned in your letter dated March 17, 2020. I can also guess the kind of pain you are undergoing since last 8-10 days in view of the above,” Tandon wrote, referring to a letter sent to him by the Speaker.
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“Although there is no mention of efforts made by you to know about these members, I believe that you must have taken adequate efforts for it,” he said.
“As far as accepting the resignation of honourable members is concerned, I can praise your impartial and courageous decision to accept the resignation of six out of 22 members very soon. As the Speaker, you must be well aware of the legal procedure to accept the resignation of any member or what action needed to be taken when the members are absent without any information despite knowing about the session,” the governor wrote.
“However, I can also feel your dilemma in disposing of these MLAs’ resignation,” he added.
Regarding the missing MLAs, Tandon said they have been constantly writing to him and the speaker but in none of their letters have they mentioned where they are at present. They have not mentioned any problems on their own, he added.
“Their letters and videos are also constantly getting highlighted in newspapers, electronic and social media and now they have also reached the Supreme Court,” Tandon said.
“In the last paragraph of your letter, you have demanded security for the MLAs. It is the duty of the executive to ensure the security of each and every citizen of the state and I am sure, you also wanted the same from it only, but, it appears that you have erroneously sent it to me,” the governor wrote.
Tandon also requested the speaker to send a copy of the rules of the house regarding some questions and their answers that the latter had sought on the issue.
(With PTI inputs)