Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot govt sends fresh proposal to Governor for summoning Assembly, third in 5 days

Rajasthan government sends revised proposal to governor seeking assembly session from July 31.

The Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan has sent a revised proposal to Governor Kalraj Mishra seeking to summon a special Assembly session from July 31, government sources told news agency PTI.

The development comes after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot chaired a Cabinet meeting here to discuss the points raised by Kalraj Mishra for calling the state assembly session. The Cabinet said it is sticking to its demand for holding the session from July 31.

The Governor has twice returned the state government’s proposal to convene a special Assembly session to discuss the prevailing situation in the state.

Earlier on Saturday, the state cabinet had sent a revised proposal to the Governor for calling the Assembly session from July 31. The proposal came a day after the Governor returned the government’s first proposal.

Returning the first proposal, Governor Mishra had sought clarifications on six points. While returning the second proposal, the Governor asked, “Do you want to move Motion of Confidence? It’s not mentioned in the proposal but you have been speaking about it in media.”

The Governor on Monday said he will summon a special Assembly session if the Ashok Gehlot government agrees on giving 21 days notice. The Raj Bhawan said in a statement that “not convening the Assembly was never the intention”.

Meanwhile, state Transport Minister Pratap Singh said a discussion was held for the reply to be sent regarding the three points raised by the Governor during the Cabinet meet.

“The Cabinet wants the assembly session from July 31. The proposal which was sent earlier for calling the session is our legal right and we are sending it again to the governor,” he told reporters.

“The Governor’s questions are simple and we discussed their reply. He has no right to be raising queries yet we are giving the reply,” Pratap Singh added.

He also said that the government wants no confrontation with the Governor and hoped Kalraj Mishra will now accept the cabinet proposal for calling the session.

“We want permission to call the assembly session which is our right. We do not want any confrontation with the governor. If he does not accept this now, then it is clear that there is no Constitution in the country,” he said.

To a question about the Governor’s 21-day notice, the Congress minister said that 10 days have already passed and asked “why did the Governor not giving a date if he is talking the notice”.

The Ashok Gehlot government wants to hold the session so that it can prove its majority. Convening a special Assembly session means that the party can issue a whip and Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs will have to abide by the party whip, failing which the Speaker can initiate the disqualification process.

Sachin Pilot and 18 dissident Congress MLAs are currently staying at resort on Jaipur-Gurugram highway while MLAs loyal to Ashok Gehlot are camping at a resort on the outskirts of Jaipur for the last two weeks.

In the 200-member House, the Congress has 107 MLAs which includes 19 rebels. The BJP has 72 MLAs.