Adjourning House for long periods a harmful 'tradition': Rajasthan governor Kalraj Mishra

JAIPUR: Coming down heavily on adjourning assembly sessions for long periods, governor Kalraj Mishra said on Thursday that this 'tradition' would harm legislative procedures.
He was delivering the keynote address at the concluding ceremony of the 83rd All India Presiding Officers' Conference at the state assembly.
His remarks have come in the backdrop of the continuing tussle between the Congress government and the governor's house over sessions continuing without the House functioning. The 'tradition' began after governor Mishra repeatedly rejected the state government's requests to convene the assembly for a floor test after Sachin Pilot and 18 Congress MLAs revolted against CM Ashok Gehlot.
The Congress government had continued the assembly session for long periods in 2021 and 2022 against the norm of having at least three sessions, namely budget, monsoon and winter. In 2021, the assembly session ran from February to September, while in 2022, it was from February to September.
"The power to convene an assembly session on the recommendation of the state government lies with the governor. The practice of running a session without concluding it is setting a harmful tradition and wrong precedence," Mishra said.
‘Guv is Constitutional body, not a person’
“The power to convene an assembly session on the recommendation of the state government lies with the governor. The practice of running a session without concluding it is setting a harmful tradition and wrong precedence. It does not give legislators the opportunity to raise a number of questions. The need is to pay serious attention to ensure that assemblies are convened following due procedure,” Mishra said. Slamming those accusing the governor’s office for delays in approving bills, he said,
“The governor is not a person. He is a constitutional body. He gives assent to an ordinance only when he is satisfied on constitutional grounds. Ordinances deal with people and if the office finds something inappropriate and not in accordance with rules, it can send it back for changes or amendment.” He also expressed his concern over the low number of sittings. “Members should hold effective discussions in the House with full preparation on issues related to the public. MLAs should be present in the Assembly in good numbers during the debates on important topics which will only benefit the public at large,” he said, underlining the need to promote private member bills.