Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan takes oath as CM
Bharatiya Janata Party's Shivraj Singh Chouhan was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on Monday evening. This is Chouhan's fourth term as CM of the state. He had previously served as the MP CM from 2005 to 2013. Chouhan's swearing-in comes days after the collapse of the former Congress government, led by Kamal Nath. Here are more details.
Governor Lalji Tandon administered oath to Chouhan
The oath was administered by Governor Lalji Tandon to Chouhan at the Raj Bhavan in Bhopal. Earlier in the day, Chouhan was elected as the leader of the BJP legislative party at a meeting held at the party office in Bhopal. Ahead of his swearing-in, Chouhan had told ANI that his first priority as CM would be to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
You can watch the oath-taking ceremony here
'Asked party workers to not celebrate my oath-taking ceremony'
Chouhan had told ANI, "As a BJP worker, I will work honestly for the development of MP. But, right now, the aim is to stop the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019)." He added, "I have appealed to party workers to not celebrate the oath-taking ceremony and not come out on the streets. They should stay at home and pray for the newly-formed government."
Why did the Kamal Nath's government fall?
Chouhan's fourth term as CM comes after the former Nath-led Congress government lost the majority in the state Legislative Assembly. Trouble for the Congress government started when party heavyweight Jyotiraditya Scindia tendered his resignation on March 9, saying he could not continue to serve the country while working with the party. Thereafter, 22 MLAs loyal to Scindia also resigned. Six ministers were among them.
Floor test was ordered; Nath resigned
As the Congress failed to woo the rebel MLAs back, the floor test that Nath himself had requested was delayed under curious circumstances. Days later, the Supreme Court ordered a floor test in the state Assembly upon hearing BJP's plea. On March 20, before the floor test was to be conducted, Nath resigned. In a double whammy, Scindia and the rebel MLAs joined BJP.
