Rajasthan cabinet meets to discuss points raised by governor for calling assembly session
The Rajasthan government is holding a cabinet meeting to discuss the points raised by governor Kalraj Mishra for convening a session of the state assembly.
The Congress government has been constantly demanding that a session of the house should be called. Confident of its numbers in the assembly, the party is pushing for a floor test in the assembly in the wake of a power tussle between Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.
The governor on Monday agreed to call a session, but asked the state government for a fresh proposal addressing his three conditions – a 21-day notice for the sitting of the House; live-streaming of floor test; and ensuring social distancing in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.
“If the government wants to win a vote of confidence, then it can become a reasonable ground for calling the assembly session on short notice. But it has to be said,” a Raj Bhavan statement said on Monday.
Congress leaders said a 21-day notice isn’t necessary and pointed out that in 2014, the third session of the 14th Rajasthan assembly was summoned on September 7 and the proceedings of the House began on September 15. “There have been umpteen instances when the assembly was called with a much shorter notice,” said Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
The governor had earlier questioned the need for calling the session when the government already had the majority and the disqualification matter was pending in the Supreme Court.
The Congress accuses the governor of delaying the session due to pressure from the BJP-led central government – a charge that Mishra denies.
Meanwhile, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Monday sent a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind, seeking his intervention to facilitate an assembly session in the state. The CLP members claimed that horse-trading of MLAs was on in Rajasthan to topple an elected government.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot said yesterday that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the political situation in the state and he has promised him to “get the matter seen”.
