Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava on Wednesday dared the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh to bring a trust vote to prove its majority in the Assembly and asked the ruling party not to rejoice over two saffron party MLAs voting in favour of a Bill.
In a jolt to the BJP, two of its MLAs backed the seven-month-old Congress-led government during the voting on a bill in the Assembly. BJP legislators Narayan Tripathi and Sharad Kol voted in favour of the Criminal Law (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2019, when it was put to vote in the Assembly.
“We did not seek division of votes on the bill that got through,” said Bhargava, the Leader of Opposition in the assembly, trying to put up a brave front after the setback in the house. “They should not boast. They should bring a trust vote to prove their majority, the former minister added.
Another senior BJP leader and former minister Narottam Mishra told reporters, “The Congress has started the game which we are going to end.”
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Talking to reporters later, Tripathi (Maihar) and Kol (Beohari) said they extended support to the Nath government because they wanted development in their constituencies.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath said his government has proved its majority in the Assembly as the the bill sponsored by it got through with the support of the two BJP MLAs.
The Congress has 114 MLAs—two short of the simple majority mark of 116 -- and its government is supported by four Independent legislators, two MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party and one from the Samajwadi Party. The BJP had won 109 seats and one of its MLAs resigned after getting elected to the Lok Sabha.