Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik is declared to have won the confidence vote in the Assembly conveyed for the specific purpose. But he cannot say how many members supported him.
The Assembly Speaker who hails from Navin’s party BJD has declared him victorious. But he also cannot say how many members supported the CM and how many members opposed him.
This is because there was no division. The Speaker’s declaration was based only on assumption.
Is it victory for the CM or a defeat?
A Chief Minister, who is declared to have won a confidence vote, cannot say how many votes helped him win!
A speaker, who was called upon by the Governor to report him on whether or not the Chief Minister has majority support in the House, cannot give the number of MLAs that supported the CM, as he himself does not know that figure!
Can there be anything more farcical than this in the history of Parliamentary democracy?
Will the Governor endorse this farce or take steps to dethrone the CM who has failed to prove his majority on records?
Confidence assumed in den of voices cannot be accepted as confidence expressed on records.