Thread by @legaljournalist

Madhya Pradesh floor test: Dushyant Dave making arguments in Supreme Court for Congress on horse trading.

"It is not a question of simple floor test. It is a question of destroying democracy using muscle and money power", submits Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshFloorTest: We are facing a crisis today which humanity has nor faced for a century and BJP being a responsible party is doing this, says Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshFloorTest: Tomorrow they will go to Rajasthan, hijack 20 MLAs and ask for floor test. Is this the kind of democracy we envisaged, ask Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshPoliticalCrisis:
The BJP is going doing this at a time when humanity is facing a crisis (coronavirus). Is this how a responsible party acts, asks Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshFloorTest: Governor does not represent BJP. He is expected to be independent, Dave on the responsibility that comes with the office of Governor.

#MadhyaPradeshFloorTest: Governor is not heeding the Chief Minister when the CM tells him that MLAs have been kept in captive outside Madhya Pradesh. It is a mockery of justice, submits Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: The captive MLAs kept in rooms, expenses for a day will come to Rs. 30k to 40k per day, says Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: Dave referring to Constitutional morality.

"When I used Constitutional morality many spoke as if it is new. But it is not Constitutional morality of judges that I spoke about but constitutional morality envisaged in the Constitution", says Chandrachud J.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: Dave placing reliance on Constituent Assembly Debates to make his case that act of BJP goes against Constitutional morality.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: Democracy in India is only a top dressing of Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic, Dave quoting Dr. BR Ambedkar.

#MadhyaPradeshPoliticalCrisis:
"I beseech my friends on other side to advise their clients to stop this" Dave urges quoting Dr. Ambedkar's words on possibilties of India losing democracy and freedom due to people placing greed above nation.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: By independence, we have lost the excuse to blame British for anything going wrong. If anything goes wrong now, we will only have ourselves to blame, Dave quotes Dr Ambedkar.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: A stable governance should be the basic feature of constitution. Nobody should be allowed to indulge in acts which affects such stability, Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: "We had a manifesto. We were elected by people based on that manifesto", says Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: Has the speaker applied his mind to all 22 resignations, asks Justice DY Chandrachud.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: Sr. Counsel Singhvi says Governor communicated his subjective satisfaction to accept the resignation and therefore speaker accepted their resignation.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: SG Tushar Mehta says the Chief Minister had conveyed to Governor to accept resignation of those 6 who were ministers.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: No role assigned to Governor to decide on resignations. Governor has no role in disqualification proceedings under tenth schedule. Any such order by Governor constitutionally unsustainable, submits Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: Dave submits that when an MLA resigns, then there should be by election to that seat before a trust vote can happen.

Heavens will not fall if Congress govt is allowed to continue for 2 more months, says Dave.

#MadhyaPradeshPoliticalCrisis: Mukul Rohatgi begins counter.

Rohatgi says petitioner in Dave's case is a party which was responsible for mass murder of democracy in 1975.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: They (Congress) dont have a moral, legal or constitutional right to remain in power. They want to stick to power by hook or crook, says Rohatgi.

#MadhyaPradeshPoliticalCrisis: The 22 resignation letters are identitical. How can the letters be treated differently, asks Rohatgi.

#MadhyaPradeshPoliticalCrisis: This is not a case of defection. This is not a case of tenth schedule. This is a case where 22 MLAs have said they don't want to be part of ruling govt and have resigned, Rohatgi argues.

#MadhyaPradeshPolitics: It is an astounding argument that floor test can happen only after by elections.

A govt which does not have right to continue for one minute wants to continue in power for six months.

#MadhyaPradeshCrisis: Justice Chandrachud says it is mandatory for speaker to test the resignation letters before accepting the same.

Hearing to continue at 2 pm.