Asserting that they were firmly behind their leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, rebel Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh holed up at a resort in the city said on Tuesday that they were yet to decide on joining the BJP.
Speaking at a press meet held to allay claims by MP chief minister Kamal Nath that the MLAs were held against their will, they said that their defection was due to the discontent among Congress legislators over the functioning of the chief minister.
Rebel MLA Govind Singh Rajput sought protection by central forces, fearing harm from Nath. “We are feeling unsafe and require protection from central security forces,” he said.
Another MLA Imarti Devi said that they were backing Scindia - who joined BJP recently - unconditionally. “For the past two decades, I have been working with him,” she said.
According to the MLAs, 22 of the 23 MLAs who have rebelled against the government were in Bengaluru. Asked about their return to MP, the MLAs said that though they were ready to go back to their state ‘tomorrow,’ they feared for their safety.
The rebel MLAs are expected to stay put in Bengaluru till Nath’s trust vote. Currently, Kamal Nath and Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon are at loggerheads over convening the session and proving majority on the floor of
the House.
Nath has maintained that the MLAs were ‘held hostage’ and the Speaker of MP Assembly had also deferred the budget session, citing concerns over Covid-19.