Grappling with the dragging political crisis, Treasury Bench is said to have thrashed a dual strategy — Plan A and Plan B. According to the Plan A, the nine dissident MlAs would not be allowed to enter the House on March 28. As per the Plan B, in case they manage to enter they would be given seats on the side of the Opposition bench. Taking note of these plans, Governor KK Paul has purportedly written a letter to the Speaker, asking him to maintain status quo on the day of the floor test.
As the Treasury bench still claims that the House had passed appropriation bill the nine rebel Congress MlAs have not defied the party whip, said the observers.
As per the legislative experts, the whip makes sure that the members would have to vote either in favour of a bill or against it. "Viewed against this perspective, the whip issued on March 18 was not defied as the appropriation bill was claimed to have been passed. Things would have been otherwise in case the rebels joined another party or formed a party of their own. As things stand now, the Anti- defection law can hardly be applied against the rebel MlAs," the expert added.