Madhya Pradesh Speaker says action on resignations will be taken as per Assembly procedure

As 22 Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh considered loyal to former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tendered their resignations, State Speaker NP Prajapati on Tuesday said that he will take action as per the procedure of the Assembly.

"I will take action according to the established procedure of the state Assembly," Prajapati told reporters.

Earlier, Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh assembly Gopal Bhargava and BJP leaders including Narottam Mishra reached the Speaker's residence to submit the resignations of 19 Congress MLAs.

Marking one of the biggest political developments, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who had served the Congress for 18 years, also resigned from the party early on Tuesday, stating that "it is time to move on."

Congress leaders including Digvijaya Singh have been accusing the BJP of horse-trading MLAs and conspiring to bring down the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress in Madhya Pradesh has been witnessing differences since it formed a government in the state in 2018 after 15 years.

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Scindia to join BJP and be named RS candidate?

In a sensational development, just minutes after Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia announced his resignation from the party on Tuesday, sources have said that Scindia will officially join the BJP on Wednesday. Sources further mentioned that in the evening BJP's Central Election Commission (CEC) will also announce Scindia as a Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh.

Furthermore, sources said that to challenge the Kamal Nath-led government, BJP will demand a floor test in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on March 16. The Rajya Sabha election is to be held on March 26. 

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Congress says Scindia was expelled

After Jyotiraditya Scindia made his resignation public, KC Venugopal notified that Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi approved the 'expulsion' of now-former Congress leader. On Tuesday noon, KC Venugopal said that Sonia Gandhi approved Scindia's resignation with immediate effect for "anti-party activities".

Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday morning shared a photograph of the resignation letter sent to party chief Sonia Gandhi. In his letter, Scindia mentioned that his dissatisfaction had built up in the past one year. He wrote to Sonia, "As you well know, this path that has been drawing itself out over the last year." 

In an attempt to smear and mud-sling the former senior leader, Congress' national coordinator for social media took a dig at Scindia by supposedly calling him a "traitor" "A traitor is a traitor and no amount of arguments and reasoning can justify treachery. Period!" Pandhi said in a tweet on Tuesday.

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(With inputs from ANI)