Gehlot has new proposal for convening Rajasthan assembly, will be sent to governor
Rajasthan government is looking to prove its majority on the floor of the house.
The Rajasthan government has come up with a fresh proposal to convene a session of the state assembly in four to five days’ time, following objections raised by governor Kalraj Mishra over its convening at a short notice among others, said people familiar with the development.
The decision was taken in the state cabinet meet chaired by chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday evening. The people quoted above said the meeting, lasting for about 15-20 minutes, decided that the government should make a fresh submission to the governor for convening a session of the state assembly. It is not clear if the chief minister will himself meet Mishra with the request. Gehlot was earlier supposed to meet him at 4pm this afternoon, however, the meeting didn’t take place.
The need for the fresh proposal with new dates as options was felt after the governor’s house raised several questions over the original proposal submitted by the government to hold the session starting Monday.
The governor said the note containing the request neither explained the urgency, nor mention the agenda for the session. He added that it didn’t even indicate if the state cabinet had approved it. Mishra alleged the ‘haste’ shown by the government along with its intent to face a floor test was irrational since no one has demanded a show of strength on the floor of the house. He had argued that a 21-day advance notice was needed for calling a new session of the assembly and the Raj Bhawan needed time to consult legal experts over the proposal.
Gehlot had yesterday alleged that the governor was under pressure from “higher ups” and demanded that he acted as per his constitutional obligation without succumbing to the alleged pressure.
Noted senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who is appearing in the Rajasthan High Court for Congress rebels headed by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, told HT that the governor’s office was a constitutional post and therefore Kalraj Mishra may be entitled to advise Gehlot to put off the session for the next two weeks citing the Covid outbreak.
Former union law minister and senior Congress leader Ashwani Kumar is, however, of the view that Kalraj Mishra cannot refuse to convene the assembly session sought by the chief minister since the governor’s office is bound to the advice of the council of ministers.
Earlier today, Gehlot told the MLAs at the Congress legislature party (CLP) meeting at the Fairmont hotel that the Congress party will not let BJP succeed in their “conspiracy”, people familiar with the proceedings of the meeting said.
He added that he was willing to go to the President’s house if needed and even stage a dharna outside the Prime Minister’s house if required.
Gehlot and his supporting MLAs had laid siege to the governor’s house yesterday for around 5 hours and shouted slogans demanding convening of the assembly session.
Meanwhile, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by Rajasthan BJP President Satish Poonia and leader of opposition Gulab Chandra Kataria met governor Kalraj Mishra at Raj Bhawan in the evening on Saturday.
