Gehlot govt insists on July 31 for session, sends revised proposal to Governor
Our correspondent
Jaipur/New Delhi: Hours after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot chaired a Cabinet meeting, the state government on Tuesday sent a revised proposal to Governor Kalraj Mishra seeking an Assembly session from July 31.
The Cabinet discussed the points raised by the Governor and said it is sticking to its demand for holding the session from July 31. Responding to his query about safety in light of Covid, the state government said: "It is prerogative of the Speaker." Asked about the agenda of the proposed session, Transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said it was for the Business Advisory Committee of the Assembly to decide.
"The BJP stands exposed. They are changing their statements," he said, in an apparent reference to the Speaker's last note. The minister was also dismissive of the 21-day notice requirement.
He said 10 days have already passed since the government proposed a session and asked why the Governor hadn't given a date himself.
"We want permission to call the Assembly session, which is our right. We don't want any confrontation with the Governor and we hope that he will give his approval this time, Khachariyawas told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
"He has no right to be raising queries. Yet we are giving a reply," the minister said. He said there was no rivalry with the Governor. "He is the head of our family."
In his note, Governor Mishra had said media statements by the state government indicated that it wanted to prove its majority through a vote of confidence, but this has not been mentioned in its proposal.
"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," a press note said Monday, quoting the Governor.
This is the third time Ashok Gehlot government has sent a proposal to the Governor for an Assembly session, amid the crisis the Congress faces in the state after a rebellion by Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident MLAs.
The minister alleged that after Rajasthan, the BJP wants to target West Bengal, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
The Congress has alleged that Mishra is acting under pressure from the BJP government at the Centre.
AICC general secretary Avinash Pande in a series of tweets questioned the Governor for not calling the Assembly session.
Kalraj Mishra is identified as a skilled administrator and a seasoned leader who respects political integrity and holds a dignified post of the Governor of Rajasthan. His image has always been that of an idealistic leader, he said.
But 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, which is a violation of the rules mentioned in our Constitution, he added.
Meanwhile, BSP chief Mayawati has warned the six MLAs who joined the Congress last year to vote against the Ashok Gehlot government in any no-confidence motion or other proceedings held during the Assembly session in Rajasthan or face expulsion. "BSP could have gone to the court earlier too but we were looking for a time to teach Congress party and CM Ashok Gehlot a lesson. We will not let this matter alone. We will go even to the Supreme Court. We have asked the 6 MLAs, who are elected to the Rajasthan Assembly on the symbol of BSP, to vote against Congress in any proceedings to be held during the Rajasthan Assembly Session. If they don't do so, their party membership will be cancelled," she said, a national news agency reported.
