Ashok Gehlot firm on July 31 session, says governor advice ‘not binding’

JAIPUR: Adamant about its stand on convening the Rajasthan assembly session from July 31, the Ashok Gehlot government on Tuesday sent yet another proposal — its third since July 23 — to governor Kalraj Mishra, who a day earlier had advised the government to follow three points, including serving a 21-day notice to legislators before calling the session.
Parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal told TOI, “There is no rule binding on us to serve a 21-day notice for calling sessions, which have been convened on much shorter notices on several occasions in the past.”
The embattled Congress government’s fresh proposal does not talk about a trust vote — TOI reported on Tuesday that the cabinet wouldn’t commit itself to one — saying that setting an agenda for the House is the right of the assembly’s business advisory committee (BAC). On Monday, Mishra mentioned that seeking a trust vote could justify convening the assembly at a short notice.
On the governor’s third advice — making safety arrangements to counter the Covid-19 risk in the House — the government responded that managing the affairs of the Vidhan Sabha was the prerogative of the Speaker. Asked if the cabinet has mentioned the trust vote in the revised proposal, Dhariwal said: “The House agenda is decided by the BAC. We want to discuss the state’s Covid-19 and financial conditions. Other issues could be taken up if the BAC approves.”
After a nearly two-hour long cabinet meeting, revenue minister Harish Chaudhary said: “The governor should let the cabinet’s rights remain with the cabinet, the speaker’s right to remain with the speaker and perform his own duty.”
Transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said, “We have sought the assembly session from July 31 as recommended by the cabinet earlier also.”
On the Governor returning the cabinet recommendations twice between July 24 and 27, transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said: “If the President denies Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for convening a Lok Sabha session, can the nation function? We do not want a confrontation with the Governor, who is the head of our family. But, Article 163 clearly states that a Governor cannot reject the cabinet proposal.”
“Entire BJP is functioning like slaves of the Congress rebels (Sachin Pilot camp). The Assembly session will not be convened if these rebels tell the BJP not to do so. Politics is being done ignoring the constitution,” said Kachariyawas, accusing the BJP of trying to topple the Congress government.
AICC general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan, Avinash Pande took to Twitter to question the Governor’s decision. In a series of tweets with hashtag #GetWellSoonGovernor, Pande wrote, “The Governor is adopting a partial attitude to fulfil the interests of a particular party.”
Mishra returned the cabinet’s first recommendation while raising six queries on July 24 and the second recommendation while asking government response on the 3-point advice from him on July 27.