Published 20:26 IST, March 20th 2020
Asaduddin Owaisi taunts BJP on fall of MP govt, calls for LS adjournment amid COVID-19
Contending that BJP’s desire to topple the MP government had succeeded, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi urged BJP to request for the adjournment of Lok Sabha.
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AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday took a dig at BJP after Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath resigned before the floor test. Contending that BJP’s desire to topple the MP government had succeeded, he urged BJP parliamentarians to request for the adjournment of Lok Sabha in the wake of the novel coronavirus crisis. Qwaisi revealed that he had stayed back in Hyderabad at the request of the Telangana CM. He appealed to everyone to practise as much social distancing as possible. Already, multiple parliamentarians including Anupriya Patel, Varun Gandhi, Derek O’Brien have gone into self-quarantine after coming in contact with BJP's Dushyant Singh who attended a dinner with singer Kanika Kapoor, a COVID-19 patient.
Now that they’ve achieved the desired outcome in Madhya Pradesh, @BJP4India must formally urge Speaker to adjourn LS in light of #covid
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) March 20, 2020
I haven’t left Hyderabad since Wednesday morning, after I attended a review meeting with @KTRTRS & stayed back at the request of @TelanganaCMO
I’ve been urging everyone to avoid unnecessary congregations/crowds & practice social distancing as much as possible
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) March 20, 2020
MP political crisis
Scindia’s sudden resignation from the Congress party on March 10 was followed by 22 Madhya Pradesh Congress MLAs putting in their papers. However, the Speaker adjourned the Assembly till March 26 in view of the novel coronavirus crisis without conducting the floor test. Ruling on a plea of BJP leaders seeking an immediate floor test, a two-judge SC bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta observed that the MP Assembly session should be reconvened on Friday for the sole purpose of holding a floor test by show of hands. As the Congress party was short of a majority, Kamal Nath put in his papers. Owaisi's allegation stems from the fact that Congress leaders including Kamal Nath have repeatedly blamed BJP for holding the 22 rebel MLAs in Bengaluru against their will.
Novel coronavirus pandemic
Currently, there are 173 confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus with one death reported in Mumbai, Delhi, Kalaburagi and Punjab each. In Telangana, 18 people have tested positive for COVID-19. Addressing the nation on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked extensively about the challenges caused due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. He stressed that “resolve” and “restraint” were the two most important things to be followed. Thereafter, he announced that Janta Curfew - a curfew for the people and of the people would be observed on Sunday, March 22. On this day, all citizens except those providing essential services were requested not to step out of the house from 7 am to 9 pm.
20:26 IST, March 20th 2020