Section 144 imposed near Madhya Pradesh assembly ahead of floor test

Ahead of a floor test in Madhya Pradesh assembly Bhopal district administration on Sunday has imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code prohibiting gathering of five or more people at public places. The restrictions will be in place from March 16 to April 13.

Bhopal District Magistrate and Collector Tarun Kumar Pithode, in an order, said that there are possibilities of various groups and political parties organising protests during the Madhya Pradesh assembly session scheduled to take place from March 16, 2020, to April 13, 2020.

The development comes after Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon, following a meeting with a BJP delegation on Saturday, said that the floor test in the assembly will be held on Monday.

While the BJP has issued a whip to all its MLAs asking them to be present in the assembly for the floor test scheduled for March 16, Congress MLAs are also bound for Bhopal from a resort in Jaipur.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Minister Pradeep Jaiswal had on Sunday said that floor test might not take place tomorrow.

As political uncertainty developed in Madhya Pradesh for Kamal Nath-led government, both BJP and Congress had moved their legislators out of the state and lodged them in luxury hotels, apparently in a bid to keep their respective flocks intact.

The development comes amid the political crisis that has engulfed the state after Jyotiraditya Scindia, a prominent face of the Congress, resigned from the party last week and joined the BJP. Scindia's decision to leave Congress was followed by the resignation from 22 party MLAs loyal to him.

Earlier, allegations were levelled against the BJP for reportedly holding hostages at least eight Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh against their will at a luxury hotel in Gurugram's Manesar and Bengaluru.