BHOPAL: Even as MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan takes his time in allocating portfolios to the newly inducted 28 ministers, the Congress plans to move the apex court over the number of ministers not being in conformity with constitutional provisions.
The Congress has alleged that the 34-member Council of Ministers, which includes the CM, exceeds the maximum number of ministers prescribed under Article 164 (1A) of the Constitution.
Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha tweeted: “Shivraj ji has violated the law again. First he ran the government without a cabinet.When the matter was taken up with the President, he inducted only five ministers, which was less than the minimum requirement of 12 ministers. He again violated the law by inducting on Thursday more ministers than 15% of the present 206 strength of the state legislature. The Congress will move the court.”
Tankha confirmed to TNIE on Friday that the party was working on moving the Supreme Court.
Article 164 (1A) of the Constitution reads, “The total number of ministers, including the CM, in the council of ministers in a state shall not exceed 15% of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that state”.
“We’ll inform the SC that while the minimum requirement of 12 ministers was fulfilled initially, now the number of ministers post cabinet expansion has exceeded the maximum limit stipulated clearly in the Constitution,” Tankha said.
In another development, protests by supporters of many BJP MLAs who missed ministerial berths are gathering momentum across the state. On Thursday, it was supporters of BJP MLAs Yashpal Singh Sisodia (Mandsaur) and Ramesh Mendola (Indore-II) who protested in their districts.
Congress duo hits back at Jyotiraditya
As his former colleague Jyotiraditya Scindia quipped ‘Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai’, Congress veteran Kamal Nath questioned whether it was paper tiger or tiger of the circus.
Ex-CM Digvijaya Singh went on comment that two tigers (CM and Scindia) would end up in a territorial fight.