Madhya Pradesh govt will not last 24 hours if BJP orders so, saffron party leader tells Kamal Nath; open to floor test, says CM

A day after the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) combine collapsed in Karnataka following a failed trust vote, Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Gopal Bhargava said that the state government will not last for 24 hours if the BJP leadership orders a trust vote. [caption id=“attachment_1530313” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Kamal Nath. Agencies[/caption] When Chief Minister Kamal Nath intervened in a calling attention motion during the Assembly’s proceedings on Wednesday, Bhargava said, “Hamare upar wale no 1 ya no 2 ka aadesh hua toh 24 ghante bhi aapki sarkar nahi chalegi (If there is an order from our number 1 and number 2, your government will not last for 24 hours).” Bhargava had also told ANI that the Congress-led coalition in Madhya Pradesh lacked “ideological compatibility or principles, but on greed”. “The day their demands are not met, the coalition will fall," he said. In response, Nath expressed his willingness to face a confidence motion and prove the government’s majority, adding that the BJP is not attempting to destabilise the ruling party in the state since they know it is not possible. “Your no 1 and no 2 are smart,” he said. BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Congress will itself be responsible for the Congress’ fall in Madhya Pradesh. “There is an internal conflict in Congress, and support of BSP-SP, if something happens to that then we can’t do anything,” Chouhan told ANI on Tuesday. Soon after, state minister Jitu Patwari said, “Be it Gujarat, Goa or Karnataka, BJP is trying to kill democracy. The Modi government has shown that one can buy MLAs in bulk. I think it has become BJP’s tendency to topple other governments. They have to take seven births to topple the Kamal Nath government. That was Kumarswmay’s government but this is Kamal Nath’s government.” The Congress-JD(S) government was defeated on the floor of the Karnataka Assembly after the confidence motion moved by outgoing chief minister HD Kumaraswamy got 99 votes as against 105 of the Opposition. The Congress has 114 MLAs in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly. Two Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), one Samajwadi Party (SP) and four Independent MLAs also supported the government. The BJP, on the other hand, has 109 MLAs in the state. Nath had asked Congress MLAs and the legislators supporting his government to stay in Bhopal after the crisis in Karnataka took a turn for the worse last week. Defections and exits have also impacted the Congress’ positions in Goa and Telangana.