Gehlot could call for floor test despite the return of Pilot camp
NEWDELHI/JAIPUR:Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot is likely to opt for a floor test in the upcoming assembly session despite a truce announced by 19 dissident Congress legislators, whose rebellion threatened the government’s stability over the past month, at least three party leaders aware of the development said on Wednesday.
Even though the 19 MLAs, including now-dismissed deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, have returned to the Congress fold, the party thinks that a floor test is the only way to send across a message of unity after a tumultuous month marked by an intense tussle that triggered political uncertainty in the western state.
It will also give some time to Gehlot to put his house in order since a floor test cannot be repeated during a session, one of the leaders cited above said. He said the practice is that if a government survives a trust vote, nothing is likely to change in the next six months.
“The rule is that once you move a motion in a particular session, you cannot bring in that subject again in the same session. You can do so in the next session,” constitutional expert PDT Achary explained.
In an interview with HT, pub
lished on Wednesday, chief minister Gehlot did not rule out a floor test, saying a decision will be taken once the assembly session begins on August 14.
“There is no doubt that a floor test is the only solution and we can go for it any opportune time. We will prove our majority on the floor of the House,” the first Congress leader said, requesting anonymity. “We will get a breather...to address all the issues raised by party leaders and legislators from both sides,” he added, referring to the Gehlot and Pilot camps.
The Rajasthan crisis appeared to have come to an end after a meeting between Pilot and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday. Later that night, the party announced the setting up of a three-member panel to look into issues raised by the 42-year-old Pilot and the 18 rebel legislators, who questioned Gehlot’s style of functioning. Three independents MLAs, too, backed Pilot.
With Pilot’s return, the Congress alone has 107 legislators in the 200-member assembly, where the simple majority is 101. It also appears to have the support of all 13 independents, with the three from the Pilot camp pledging their support to Gehlot, and of five MLAs from different parties. The BJP and its ally Rashtriya Loktrantrik Party have 75 seats.
A second Congress functionary, who is monitoring the developments in Rajasthan, said the government can move the trust vote any time in the assembly. The leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the strategy for the session will be finalised on Thursday.
A third Congress leader said a floor test was important to prove a point. “The entire political crisis was witnessed by the public. A message is needed to be sent that the government is safe and promises made will be fulfilled,” he said. He reiterated the Congress’s allegations that the BJP was trying to destabilise the state government.
The BJP said taking a call on a floor test was Congress’s “internal issue”. “The BJP neither asked and nor will ask for floor test. Let them do whatever they want to do,” BJP legislator Ram Lal Sharma said.