New Delhi: Supreme Court directed the Madhya Pradesh Speaker to conduct the floor test to the Congress led Kamal Nath Government before 5 pm on Friday. The Supreme Court issued orders to the Speaker of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Thursday, after hearing the case since two days.

The Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Prajapati decided to conduct the floor test at 2pm on Friday. He communicated the information to the all MLAs to attend the floor test. The 15 months Congress led Kamal Nath’s Government has been on the brink of collapse since last week after the resignation of 22 MLAs, who were loyal to Jyothiraditya Scindia who quit the Congress and joined the BJP last week. Ordering the session to be reconvened on March 20, the court said, “There will be only one agenda – whether the government enjoys strength. The state of uncertainty in Madhya Pradesh should be effectively resolved by a floor test”. The BJP has contended that the government was delaying the trust vote in the name of Covid-19.

“The voting has to be done peacefully, by a show of hands. It has to be video graphed and there has to be live telecast of the proceedings,” the judges said. Regarding the Congress contention that the 16 rebel MLAs – who the party alleges have been “kidnapped and kept captive” by the BJP – the court said if any of the MLAs wish to be present for the voting, security should be provided. The rebel MLAs insisted that they have resigned of their free will, which was also represented in Court. The rebel MLAs also made a point they released a number of videos in this regard on Wednesday.

The Congress and the BJP had locked horns in court on Monday – following power struggle in the state that has been going on for weeks. Dushyant Dave, who appeared for the Congress, had hit out at Governor Lalji Tandon, who had asked the Speaker for a floor test, calling the Governor’s action “unconstitutional,” he had accused him of constitutional impropriety. On Thursday, the court said the Governor was right in stepping in when the assembly was adjourned.

Making the collapse of the government in Madhya Pradesh all but certain, state assembly speaker Narmada Prasad Prajapati late Thursday night accepted the resignations of the remaining 16 rebel Congress MLAs who have been in Bengaluru since March 9. After the resignations of all 22 MLAs in former Congress leader Jyothiraditya Scindia’s camp who resigned on March 10 now stand accepted. Now the total members of the Assembly is 206 where the ruling Congress with 92 members and seven allied MLAs is now at least five short of a simple majority of 104. The opposition BJP with 107 MLAs is three more than the simple majority.