The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon’s decision to direct the Kamal Nath Government to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly.
A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud rejected the plea of Nath that the Governor could have insisted on the House being convened but not on a floor test. The court said the Governor’s action was in conformity with the nine-judge verdict in the 1994 Bomai case.
Also, the Governor was right to have directed the government to seek a trust vote, rejecting the argument that there was no occasion for the Governor to intervene once the Assembly was in session. On March 19, the apex court had asked the Governor to issue a directive to end the uncertainty by convening the Assembly for a floor test. Which he did. But before the floor test the Nath Government submitted its resignation.
The former chief minister now complains that the Centre delayed the nation-wide lockdown only to ensure his resignation. Whether true or not, the fact that he had lost his majority the moment Jyotiraditya Scindia walked out of the Congress along with the group of supporting MLAs is beyond an iota of doubt. Nath then missed an opportunity to stand for propriety by not resigning at that time. Now, he sounds like a sore loser, and should stop complaining.
