‘Pull down Haryana govt’: BJP’s ex-ally Jannayak Janata Party urges Congress

The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) said on Wednesday that it will vote against the embattled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana in a no-confidence motion, adding to the churn in the northern state that was gripped by a political crisis a day ago when three independent lawmakers withdrew support.

The offer by the JJP, a former BJP ally which abruptly pulled out of the government in March, prompted the Congress to ask for an assurance in writing even as chief minister Nayab Singh Saini asserted that his government was safe.

Former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala said that the JJP, which has 10 lawmakers, will cast its votes against the BJP if a no-confidence motion is moved.

“In two months’ time, Nayab Saini has emerged as a weak chief minister and five MLAs have been reduced from BJP’s tally. Either the chief minister proves his majority or submit his resignation. We will meet the governor and urge him to direct Nayab Singh Saini to prove his majority,” he added.

“Now, Congress has to think whether they will take a step to bring down the BJP government,” Chautala said.

Former chief minister and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that the JJP was working as the BJP’s B team and, therefore, Chautala should write to the governor and say they will oppose the BJP government, if a non-confidence motion is moved.

“The BJP government is in minority and 45 MLAs are presently against this government,” Hooda said in Rohtak.

For his part, Saini – who took oath as chief minister in March, replacing his mentor Manohar Lal Khattar – asserted that his government was safe.

“The government is not in any trouble, it is working strongly,” Saini told reporters in Sirsa.

“The Congress knows that it cannot fulfil the aspirations of people and misleads them. It tries to create a state of confusion that the (state) government is in minority. The government is in no trouble and it is functioning strongly,” he added.

The latest chapter of the crisis that sparked off in March began on Tuesday after three independent lawmakers — Randhir Golan from Pundri, Dharmpal Gonder from Nilokheri and Sombir Singh Sangwan from Dadri — said they had decided to back Hooda of the Congress and written to governor Bandaru Dattatreya pulling their support from the Saini government.

“We are withdrawing support to the government. We are extending our support to the Congress,” Gonder said.

Assembly elections are scheduled in the state in October-November this year. All 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state go to the polls on May 25.

In the 90-member assembly, two seats are vacant, of which Karnal is going for by-elections on May 25.

The BJP has 40 members, and has the support of two independents — Nayan Pal Rawat from Prithla and Rakesh Daulatabad from Badshahpur — and Gopal Kanda of the Haryana Lokhit Party. That takes it to 43, two short of the majority mark of 45 in the assembly that currently has a strength of 88.

The Congress has 30 lawmakers, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) has 10, and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has one. In addition, one independent legislator — Balraj Kundu from Meham — has not made his position clear.

If they all oppose the government, there will be 45 votes against the state government.

INLD’s lone lawmaker Abhay Singh Chautala said that either the government should prove it had a majority or else “governor’s rule should be imposed”.

In the middle of the uncertainty, all eyes are on the governor.

Through a series of judgments, including the Constitution bench rulings in SR Bommai (1994), Nebam Rebia (2016) and Subhash Desai (Maharashtra political crisis, in 2023) cases, the Supreme Court has maintained that the governor has the authority to call for a floor test if it is clear from the materials at his disposal that a floor test is necessary to determine if the government is worthy of the House’s confidence.

“In a situation where the governor has reasons to believe that the chief minister and his council of ministers have lost the confidence of the House, it is open to the governor to require the chief minister and his council of ministers to prove their majority in the House, by a floor test,” the Nebam Rebia judgment held.

Following these precedents, in Shivraj Singh Chouhan Vs Speaker, Madhya Pradesh Assembly (2020), the apex court further clarified that the power under Article 174 of the Constitution to summon the House and to prorogue it is one which is exercised by the governor on the aid and advice of the council of ministers. “But in a situation where the governor has reasons to believe that the council of ministers, headed by the chief minister, has lost the confidence of the House, constitutional propriety requires that the issue be resolved by calling for a floor test. The governor in calling for a floor test cannot be construed to have acted beyond the bounds of constitutional authority,” it underlined.

The continuous existence of that confidence is crucial to the legitimacy and hence survival of the government, the court said in the 2020 judgment, adding it is a matter which can brook no delay since the authority of the government presided over by the chief minister depends on the council of ministers continuing to have the faith of the legislative body as a collective entity.

Saini won the trust vote in a special session of the assembly on March 13, a day after being appointed in place of Khattar. The maximum period between two sessions of the assembly cannot exceed six months, which means that the governor will have to summon the House before September 13. At that time, Saini could face a no-confidence motion — just weeks before assembly elections are scheduled in the state.

Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan said the party will write to the governor stating that the Saini government is in a minority and that it should be dismissed, the President’s Rule imposed in the state and fresh polls announced.

“Likewise, the JJP should also write a letter that the government be dismissed. INLD’s Abhay Singh Chautala and Independent MLA Balraj Kundu, who claim to be opposing the government, should also write similar letters to the governor,” he added.

But the BJP indicated that it was in no mood to give up without a fight.

In Chandigarh, while replying to a question, Haryana speaker Gian Chand Gupta said that the Saini government won the trust vote on March 13.”How can we say that the government is in a minority? It is intact and running as it was earlier,” he told reporters.