Raj impasse continues as Gehlot pushes for session
JAIPUR/NEW DELHI: In a sign of the deepening rift between constitutional institutions in Rajasthan, the state government, in its third proposal to state governor Kalraj Mishra, has reiterated its demand to convene an assembly session from July 31 — but did not mention whether it will seek a trust vote in the House.
The Ashok Gehlot-led cabinet, which met on Tuesday, also claimed that the governor did not have any locus standi in stipulating conditions to hold the session, asked him to abide by the proposal of the cabinet, claimed that the failure to do so would be unconstitutional, asserted that the agenda of the session will be determined by the business advisory committee of the house, and said that it was the speaker’s domain to decide on social distancing norms in the assembly.
Separately, the Congress accused the governor of acting under pressure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while leaders privately said they would wait for the governor’s response before determining their next step.
The cabinet meeting followed Mishra’s response to an earlier request by Gehlot to convene the assembly session. The governor had suggested a 21-day notice period to convene the house; sought clarity on the agenda of the session and advised livestreaming of the floor test, if such a test was to be held; and asked about Covid-19 related precautions in the assembly.
A senior official at the governor’s office, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the government’s proposal has been received.
The BJP has rejected the alle
gation and claimed that the entire crisis was purely a result of an internal clash within the Congress. The Rajasthan crisis has seen an open tussle between Gehlot and his now-dismissed deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and a set of rebel Congress legislators, who allege that Gehlot’s government is in a minority. Gehlot, in recent days, has sought a quick assembly session based on the assessment that he has the numbers in the house, according to Congress strategists.
In response to the governor’s queries, laying out the government’s position, state transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said,
“He has no right to be raising queries. Yet we are giving a reply.” On the 21-day requirement — the first point mentioned by the governor — Khachariyawas said that 10 days had already passed since the government had asked for a session, and asked why the governor had not given a date himself.
The minister also asked what would happen if the central government sought to hold a session of Parliament and wrote to the President, who rejected the proposal. “The BJP is doing politics to weaken the Lok Sabha and state assembly.”
A Congress functionary involved in political management in the state said that the Rajasthan government, in its reply, has also conveyed to the governor that the Supreme Court judgements Mishra had quoted in his letters restrict his role in convening the assembly sessions. “These judgements clearly state that he has to go by the aid and advice of the council of ministers and that he has no authority to set the agenda or decide the timing and the venue of the assembly sessions,”thefunctionaryadded.
When asked about the agenda of the session, Khachariyawas said that it was for the Business Advisory Committee of the assembly to decide the agenda. Regarding the social distancing norms in the assembly, the minister said that the speaker would decide the seating arrangements.
Mahesh Menon who teaches law at Daksha Fellowship Programme said, “I do not subscribe to the view that the Governor can exercise his discretion when it comes to calling an assembly session. Even if the Governor can use his discretion, it should not be exercised whimsically.”
The Congress, separately, also alleged that Mishra was acting “under pressure” from the BJP government at the Centre. Party general secretary in charge of Rajasthan, Avinash Pande, in a series of tweets, said, “..In the context of the crisis in Rajasthan, the Governor of Rajasthan is adopting a biased approach to fulfil the interests of a particular party...”
BJP spokesperson Mukesh Pareek said the post of governor is constitutional, and BJP does not interfere in the work of the constitutional bodies.
The Congress functionary quoted above said the party will decide on its next course of action only after receiving the governor’s response. A second Congress leader said there were two opinions in the party on accepting the governor’s conditions.
One section was of the view that the state government should insist on a short session and stick to the July 31 date, he said. He said the second view was that the Congress should accept all the governor’s conditions, including giving the 21-day notice for calling the session. The leader further said the Congress will fight the Rajasthan battle politically by taking to streets and keeping its flock (legislators) together.