Rajasthan Political Crisis LIVE Updates: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is all set to host the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting today, a day after the deadlock over convening the assembly session ended with Governor Kalraj Mishra agreeing to call a session from August 14. The Raj Bhawan announcement came a couple of hours after the Gehlot-led Cabinet sent a fourth proposal to the Governor for summoning the Rajasthan Assembly, mentioning August 14 as the new date. The government argued this met the 21-day notice requirement on which Mishra had insisted earlier, counting the days from July 23 when the first proposal for the session was sent to the Raj Bhawan. The Congress government had earlier asked for the session to begin on July 31.
Mishra had turned down three earlier proposals, saying if the government wanted the assembly summoned at short notice it should state that it planned to hold a vote of confidence. Otherwise, it should give 21 days' notice, he had said. On Wednesday, the Raj Bhawan returned the third proposal sent by the government on Tuesday. But the fourth proposal sent on Wednesday night after another cabinet meeting was approved. "The Rajasthan Governor has approved the Cabinet proposal to call the assembly session from August 14," a Raj Bhawan spokesperson said. "He also gave verbal directions to make the necessary arrangements for the prevention of COVID-19 spread during the session."
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Jul 30, 2020 8:30 am (IST)
While returning an earlier proposal, Governor Mishra highlighted three points: a 21-day notice, live broadcast of the proceedings if there is a trust vote, and social distancing during the session. As the impasse over calling a session seemed to deepen, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot held a 15-minute meeting with Mishra at the Raj Bhawan. Hours later, the state Cabinet met to redraft the proposal, setting the new date. Speaker C P Joshi also met the Governor at the Raj Bhawan, making what was described as a courtesy call. After the Cabinet meeting, a minister announced that the government is sending a new proposal which it hoped will end the deadlock.
Jul 30, 2020 8:15 am (IST)
Gehlot to Chair CLP Meet Today | Rajasthan Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will be held today at Hotel Fairmont in Jaipur.
Jul 30, 2020 8:03 am (IST)
Speaker Moves SC Challenging HC's Status Quo Order | In a fresh appeal filed in the top court, Speaker CP Joshi has said that the July 24 order is 'in the teeth' of law declared by the apex court in the 1992 Kihoto Hollohan case, in which it was held that courts can't intervene in the disqualification proceedings undertaken by the Speaker under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution.
Jul 30, 2020 7:52 am (IST)
Cong Undermining Respect of Constitutional Post of Guv: Poonia | Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia accuses the state unit of the Congress of assailing the dignity of the constitutional post of Governor, asserting that there is no need of any evidence for this attack. He lamented that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot despite being a constitutional functionary has been making statements against Governor Kalraj Mishra. Poonia alleged the Congress is making false accusations against the BJP and the Governor.
Jul 30, 2020 7:36 am (IST)
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's elder brother Agrasian Gehlot skipped appearing before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a money-laundering case, citing health issues. His son Anupam Gehlot, however, reached the agency office in Delhi and was questioned about his business links with a company promoted by his family, Anupam Krishi. They said the agency also handed over a fresh summons for his father to appear before it on August 4 in connection with the money-laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in exporting fertiliser.
Jul 30, 2020 7:29 am (IST)
Pilot Congratulates New PCC Chief Dotasara | Sachin Pilot, who rebelled against the Ashok Gehlot government, congratulated Govind Singh Dotasra for taking charge as the Rajasthan Congress president, saying he expects the new chief will work without prejudice and treat with respect the workers with whose hard work the government has been formed. Dotasra was appointed to the post after Pilot was sacked as the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief and the deputy chief minister following accusations that he tried to topple the Congress government in the state as part of a "BJP conspiracy".
Jul 30, 2020 7:24 am (IST)
The Congress government had earlier asked for the session to begin on July 31. The Governor had turned down three earlier proposals, saying if the government wanted the assembly summoned at short notice it should state that it planned to hold a vote of confidence. Otherwise, it should give 21 days' notice, he had said. On Wednesday, the Raj Bhawan returned the third proposal sent by the government on Tuesday. But the fourth proposal sent Wednesday night after another cabinet meeting was approved.
Jul 30, 2020 7:13 am (IST)
Deadlock Ends, Assembly Session From Aug 14 | The deadlock over convening the Rajasthan Assembly ends with Governor Kalraj Mishra agreeing to call a session from August 14. The Raj Bhawan announcement came a couple of hours after the Ashok Gehlot Cabinet sent a fourth proposal to the Governor for summoning the Rajasthan Assembly, mentioning August 14 as the new date. The government argued that this met the 21-day notice requirement on which the Governor was insisting, counting the days from July 23 when the first proposal for the session was sent to the Raj Bhawan.
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra meets CM Ashok Gehlot at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur.
While returning an earlier proposal on Tuesday, Mishra had highlighted three points: a 21-day notice, live broadcast of the proceedings if there is a trust vote, and social distancing during the session. As the impasse over calling a session deepened, Gehlot held a 15-minute meeting with Mishra at the Raj Bhawan. Hours later, the state Cabinet met to redraft the proposal, setting the new date. "The love letter has already come. Now, I am only going to have tea with him," Gehlot told party workers at the state Congress office before heading for the Raj Bhawan. On Tuesday, the state Cabinet had resent its proposal to the Governor the third time, sticking to the July 31 date for holding a session and refusing to mention that it planned to hold a trust vote.
In its reaction, the Raj Bhawan on Wednesday said the government had not given clear replies to his previous queries. It reminded that the Governor had asked the state government to redraft its proposal taking into account three points: a 21-day notice, live broadcast of the proceedings if there is a trust vote, and social distancing during the session. In addition, he had said a short-notice session was possible if a trust vote was on the agenda. Although the Congress has said it wants to prove its majority in the House, it has been reluctant to state this in the proposal. Mishra had also referred to the coronavirus pandemic then, asking the government to make it clear why it wanted the session summoned at short notice under such adverse circumstances. He questioned why the lives of over 1,200 people be put in danger without any special reason.
Gehlot is caught in a power tussle with his now sacked deputy, Sachin Pilot, who has the support of 18 dissident Congress MLAs. Altogether, the Congress has 107 MLAs in the 200-member assembly and the BJP 72.
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