Madhya Pradesh govt can fall in 24 hrs, need one signal from top leadership: BJP leader
Bhopal, Jul 24: A BJP leader claimed in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Wednesday that if the party's top leadership ordered, the Kamal Nath government in the state can be toppled within 24 hours.
The statement by Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava, coming a day after the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) regime in Karnataka, prompted chief minister Nath to state that he was ready to face a floor test anytime.
The exchange of barbs took place during the debate on a calling attention motion when the ruling Congress alleged that the previous BJP government led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan hired private helicopters and planes even when the state-owned aircraft lay unused.
Chouhan said hiring private aircraft became necessary as he rushed to the spot whenever there was a natural calamity or any other kind of emergency, unlike his successor.
This led to loud protests by Congress legislators, leading to an adjournment for five minutes.
When the House reassembled, Bhargava took exception to questioning of expenditure on aircraft used by the previous chief minister.
He went on to say that "it would not take more than 24 hours to topple the Kamal Nath government if our number one and two leaders (apparently referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah) ordered".
Nath retorted that his government would complete five years, and added, "Your number one and two are wise."
The BJP leaders claimed every day that his was a minority government, and he was ready to face a no-confidence motion "today itself", the chief minister said.
"I want to make it clear that none of our MLAs are on sale," he said.
Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Rambai Singh a government ally said the Kamal Nath government was stable.
Nath said he had been an elected Member of Parliament for 40 years and held several portfolios as a union minister. During his 45-year-long political career he never faced any allegations, he added.
Chouhan said the chief minister should not complain, as such questions would be raised as his government was a minority government.
The Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh enjoys a slender majority. Besides 114 MLAs of the Congress, it is supported by four independents, two BSP MLAs and one Samajwadi Party legislator in the 230-member House.
The opposition BJP has 109 MLAs.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
