We’ll protest at PM Modi’s house, warns Gehlot
Mishra was yet to take a final call on convening the session till late Saturday night. Officials in his office, who did not want to be named, said a “considered” view was being taken on the fresh proposal and a decision will be announced at an “appropriate” time.
“The fresh proposal has been prepared with keeping legalities and provisions in mind, and approved by the cabinet before it was sent to Raj Bhavan,” a minister in the Gehlot government said, a day after Mishra sought to know the emergency for summoning the session and its agenda.
Facing protests by legislators backing Gehlot, Mishra, who was in the BJP before becoming the governor, also asked why the chief minister was pushing for a floor test even though no one had put forth such a demand and how the government was planning to protect the MLAS in the backdrop of the Covid-19 outbreak.
“We have proposed calling the session from July 31, giving sufficient time for MLAS to reach and attend the assembly. The governor is also informed of the important bills and business to be tabled in house,” the minister quoted above said. He added that the Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Ordinance 2020, notified in May for strict enforcement of Covid-19 restrictions, also needed to be tabled in the House.
Rajasthan is facing a political crisis due to a rebellion by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and a section of legislators backing him. The Gehlot camp, which is confident of its numbers and feels a floor test may be its best bet to end the political crisis, says the governor is delaying convening a session due to pressure from the Bjp-led central government. Mishra denies the charge and says he will follow constitutional norms to convene the House.
“He had queries. We have replied to them,” a second minister. The proposal has been submitted after consultation with the speaker, he said.
The draft proposal was prepared at a cabinet meeting that began at 10pm on Friday night and stretched to 1am, Congress functionaries said. It was finalised at another cabinet meeting later on Saturday.
According to the law laid down by the Supreme Court, the governor notifies the holding of a session on the recommendation of the council of ministers.
Former Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam said normally, as per the Constitution, the advice of the council of ministers is binding on the governor, but when there is a dispute about issues such as the number of lawmakers supporting a chief minister, then it is a special case.
“The governor can exercise his discretion. He can then summon MLAS to Raj Bhavan [governor’s house], make inquiries, and have discussions with various MLA groups, etc. So the general rule that the governor is bound by aid and advice of the council of ministers might not be relevant in the Rajasthan matter,” said Sathasivam, who has also served as Kerala governor.
Earlier in the day, a CLP meeting was held at a luxury hotel on the Jaipur-delhi highway, where MLAS backing Gehlot have been camping since July 13. “We will not let the BJP conspiracy to succeed. If required, we will go to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and stage dharna; if necessary, we will protest outside the PM’S house,” a senior Congress leader quoted CM Gehlot as saying. “This fight is to save democracy.”
Congress general secretary Avinash Pande said the high command made efforts so that members can freely talk about issues if they had complaints. “...but unfortunately, they became puppet in the hands of BJP and I don’t think that there return is possible from there,” he said, apparently referring to the Pilot camp.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala praised the “unity and collectiveness” shown by the MLAS at Friday’s demonstration. “...in the future, it will be remembered how 102 people together defeated those
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MONDAY 35°c I 27°c • who were trying to crush the Constitution,” he said.
The BJP denies the Congress’s claim that it is behind the Rajasthan turmoil and says the crisis was triggered by an internal feud in the Congress. Pilot, for his part, says he has no plans of joining the BJP.
Gehlot has the support of 101 members (though this does not include speaker CP Joshi). Pilot has 18 other Congress MLAS and three independents in his camp, taking his tally to 22. The BJP and its ally Rashtriya Loktrantrik Party have 75 seats. Bhanwarlal Meghwal, one Congress MLA said to be close to Pilot, is indisposed. If Pilot’s tally is added to that of the opposition alliance, it takes their number up to 97. A three-member swing from the Gehlot camp to the Pilot camp or to the BJP could lead to the government falling in the event of a floor test.
Meanwhile, a delegation of 15 BJP leaders, including state party president Satish Poonia and MLAS from Jaipur City, met the governor in the evening and expressed displeasure at chief minister Gehlot’s Friday remarks that the people of the state could gherao Raj Bhavan if the Mishra did not convene a session.
“The pressure on the governor to get a decision in their favour is a derogatory attempt to threaten constitutional institutions,” they said in a memorandum that was shared with the media.
TUESDAY 34°c I 27°c aware of the developments. HT reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter, that the two armies have amassed almost 100,000 soldiers in their forward and depth areas.
Joshi’s comments came a day after the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-china border affairs reviewed the situation in the border areas and the disengagement process in the western sector of the LAC.
At the meeting, the two sides agreed that another meeting of corps commanders “may be held soon so as to work out further steps to ensure expeditiously complete disengagement and de-escalation” along the LAC, the ministry of external affairs said in a statement on Friday.
The meeting is expected to be held next week but no dates have been finalised yet.
Joshi said disengagement was initiated after four rounds of talks between senior Indian and Chinese military commanders, and it was being verified on the ground to “ensure its veracity and correctness.” He said de-escalation of the border conflict would begin after achieving complete disengagement.
The ground situation remains unchanged in the Ladakh sector where both armies have amassed almost 100,000 soldiers in their forward and depth areas.
During a visit to Ladakh on July 17, defence minister Rajnath Singh indicated that the negotiations to resolve military tensions along the LAC were complex. He said progress in negotiations should help resolve the border dispute but added that he “couldn’t guarantee to what extent the situation will be resolved.”
On Wednesday, Singh asked the Indian Air Force to stay prepared for any eventuality.
The disengagement process has barely made progress after the last round of meeting between senior Indian and Chinese commanders on July 14.
TEMPERATURE IN FOUR METROS