New Delhi, March 16 (IANS): Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday accused Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath of fleeing the floor test and said the act sends a clear signal that the state government is in a minority.

Tomar's remarks came after the Madhya Pradesh Assembly was adjourned till March 26 earlier in the day amid a demand by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs to hold a floor test as directed by Governor Lalji Tandon.

"Kamal Nath had told the Governor that he was ready for the floor test. Opposition leaders (in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly) requested the Governor for the floor test and the Governor also ordered it. Fleeing the floor test is a signal that the Madhya Pradesh government is in a minority," Tomar said in the Parliament premises.

The Madhya Pradesh assembly was adjourned till March 26 after the Speaker accepted state Parliamentary Minister Govind Singh's plea of the coronavirus threat in the country.

Earlier, Kamal Nath had written to the Madhya Pradesh Governor, saying a trust vote would be "undemocratic" as Congress MLAs were held captive by the BJP. The Chief Minister had also said it did not lie within the domain of the Governor to interfere with the functions of the Speaker.

A political crisis has engulfed the state after senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the party and joined the BJP following which 22 MLAs who were loyal to him also resigned.

After the Speaker accepted the resignations of six Congress MLAs on Saturday, the Congress now has 108 legislators. These include 16 rebel legislators who have also put in their papers but their resignations are yet to be accepted.

The BJP has 107 seats in the House, which now has an effective strength of 222, with the majority mark being 112.

Asked if the BJP is ready to form the government and has an adequate number of MLAs, the Union Agriculture Minister said that 106 MLAs have presented themselves before the Governor assuring him that they are with the BJP.

A Member of Parliament from Morena constituency in Madhya Pradesh, Tomar, however, didn't speak on the matter of the Supreme Court which on Monday agreed to hear on Tuesday a plea filed by former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for holding the floor test in the Assembly within 12 hours.

Chouhan, a senior BJP leader, on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Kamal Nath-led government to undertake the floor test in view of the political crisis in the state.