CHANDIGARH, JULY 21: Beleagured Bansi Lal ministry in Haryana today resigned shortly before a trial of strength scheduled for the day in the state Assembly, following a revolt by a major section of the ruling Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) MLAs who formed a new outfit to provide an alternative government.Chief Minister Bansi Lal was asked by Governor Mahavir Prasad to prove his majority for the second time within a month in the 89-member House following withdrawal of support by 12-member Congress which reduced his ministry to a minority.Bansi Lal, who had been chief minister for over three years, drove straight to the Raj Bhavan and handed over his resignation. The Governor accepted it and asked him to continue till alternative arrangements were made.Speaker Chhattar Singh Chauhan announced his resignation in the Assembly and adjourned the House soon after it met.Bansi Lal, who had headed the 35-member HVP, had survived the previous trial of strength with the support of 12 Congress MLAs and eight Independents when the 11-member BJP pulled out of the coalition.However, withdrawal of support by Congress triggered a revolt within his own party with 18 MLAs, including 13 ministers, resigning to form a new outfit Haryana Vikas Party (Democratic) with Kartar Singh Bhadana as president.Bhadana, who met the Governor with 55 other MLAs belonging to HVP(D), INLD, BJP AND Independents, told newsmen that his party would seek support from other Opposition parties, including Congress, to form the government.He made it clear that there was no question of his party extending support to others, including INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala or BJP leader Ram Bilas Sharma, for government formation.Chautala, however, said the issue of forming an alternative government was not discussed with the Governor. "Let the Bansi Lal government go first," he added.But Sharma said, "when more than 50 MLAs have presented themselves before the Governor it is clear that an alternative government can be formed and there is no need for dissolution of the Assembly as is being demanded by Congress."Bhadana also said that if Chautala did not support his party's candidate for chief ministership, it could seek the support of Congress.Soon after his resignation, Bansi Lal said Congress was responsible for the present political turmoil in the state."A group of Congress leaders colluding with Om Prakash Chautala have repeated the black history of Aya Ram Gaya Ram (defection) in the state," he said, adding they were now bent on forming a government with the help of "defectors".Bansi Lal is now left with the support of only 20 MLAs (17 HVP and three Independents) while 69, including BJP (10), INLD (22), HVP-D (18), Congress (12) and seven Independents, are opposed to him.
