After two BJP MLAs this week voted in favour of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, several Congress MLAs are planning to register a protest against their entry into the ruling party.
On Wednesday, BJP MLAs Sharad Kol (Beohari) and Narayan Tripathi (Maihar) backed the seven-month-old Congress-led government during voting on a Bill in the Assembly.
Congress leaders termed Mr. Tripathi a “habitual turncoat”.
“This is for the eighth time Narayan Tripathi has changed sides. He is exposed now. He had left the Congress only two days ahead of Lok Sabha election in 2014,” said Congress leader Shrikant Chaturvedi.
Mr. Chaturvedi was defeated by Mr. Tripathi in the November 2018 Assembly elections.
“Mr. Tripathi has been a leader of different parties like the Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party and the BJP, besides the Congress, which he had termed his mother organisation when joining last time,” he said.
Mr. Chaturvedi held a press conference at Maihar in Satna district along with a dozen party leaders and supporters, and said the Congress should take local leaders into confidence before allowing Mr. Tripathi into the fold.
“We respect our top leaders but we should be consulted before any decision about Mr. Tripathi,” he said.
‘Resign as MLA’
Other Congress leaders, including Dharmesh Ghai and Shrinivas Urmalia, said Mr. Tripathi should be told to resign from the BJP and also as an MLA before formally joining the Congress.
They said they will convey their feelings to Chief Minister Kamal Nath in this regard.
Meanwhile, M.P. Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said any decision about the support of the MLAs was the prerogative of Chief Minister Kamal Nath.