New Delhi: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has continued his attack on Governor Kalraj Mishra, accusing him of acting “under pressure” and not convening an assembly session despite his requests.
Mishra Monday returned the CM’s second proposal, asking if he would accept a 21-day notice be given to the MLAs, as required by protocol. He further asked the Gehlot government if it wants a floor test, as that can then act as a reason to call the assembly in short order.
Gehlot has been demanding an assembly session, claiming he has the support of the majority of MLAs — 102 in a House of 200. But with the governor repeatedly failing to meet his demand, Gehlot had said he spoke to PM Narendra Modi about Mishra’s “conduct”.
Congress leader and Supreme Court advocate Kapil Sibal had accused Mishra of “acting with a political motive” and “no longer acting as a constitutional functionary”.
However, Mishra is far from the first governor to be accused of political partisanship in recent years — Maharashtra’s Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Goa’s former governor Mridula Sinha and many others have faced such allegations.
Also read: Was the 6 BSP MLAs’ merger with Congress in Rajasthan legal? The law is not settled
Uttarakhand, 2016
In 2016, nine MLAs, led by former CM Vijay Bahuguna, quit the Congress in Uttarakhand. The Governor K.K. Paul then sent several reports to the Centre, describing the political situation in the state, based on which the Union Cabinet recommended to the President that the state be brought under President’s rule.
Then-President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution.
Rawat took the matter to the Uttarakhand High Court, and its chief justice K.M. Joseph struck down the imposition of President’s Rule, adding that he was “pained” by the Modi government’s actions. Joseph had said the government, instead of being impartial, had acted like a “private party”.
Congress’ Rawat had alleged that the BJP would try and revoke President’s Rule and attempt to form its own government in the state. On this, Joseph had said: “If they revoke Article 356 and try and form a government… What is it but a travesty of justice?”
The high court order was upheld by the Supreme Court, and the Rawat government was reinstated after it proved its majority in a floor test.
Goa, 2017
In March 2017, the Congress finished just four short of a majority, winning 17 of the 40 seats in the Goa assembly elections, while the BJP won 13. But, then-governor Mridula Sinha invited BJP leader Manohar Parrikar to form the government — a move that stirred up a huge controversy.
The Goa Congress subsequently moved the Supreme Court, appealing to stall the swearing-in of Parrikar, saying the Congress should have been invited to form the government. However, the apex court refused to stop the swearing-in and ordered a floor test.
The BJP was deftly able to cobble up the numbers by securing support from regional outfits and independents, and subsequently proved its majority in the floor test.
Also read: The ‘win-win’ strategy for Congress in Gehlot pushing for Rajasthan assembly session
Manipur, 2017
In the same month, the BJP in Manipur did something similar. The Congress had emerged as the single-largest party in the assembly polls by winning 28 seats in the 60-member House. But instead of calling the Congress to form the government, then-Manipur governor Najma Heptulla invited the post-poll alliance formed by the BJP.
The BJP had won 21 seats on its own, but quickly formed alliances with multiple regional parties like the National People’s Party, the Naga People’s Front, the Lok Janshakti Party and the Trinamool Congress to take its numbers up to 31.
Bihar, 2017
Barely 18 hours after JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar broke off his mahagathbandhan or grand alliance with the RJD and the Congress in July 2017, and joined hands with his old ally BJP, then-governor Keshari Nath Tripathi called him to form the government.
The RJD accused Tripathi of ignoring its claim, since it was the single largest party in the assembly. However, Nitish Kumar was able to prove his majority in the assembly the very next day.
Karnataka, 2018
This time, the Congress party was quick to stake its claim after forming a post-poll alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular), but Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the single largest party, the BJP, to form the government.
The BJP won 104 seats in the assembly polls, but was still short of a majority in the 225-member house, but Vala administered the oath to B.S. Yediyurappa.
Maharashtra, 2019
A month after the October assembly elections threw up a hung assembly, and minutes after President’s Rule was lifted at 5:47 am, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari swore in the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as CM and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s Ajit Pawar as the deputy CM.
This came even as leaders of the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress were working out the modalities of their coalition. The three parties challenged Koshyari’s decision as “unconstitutional”.
This government was soon disbanded after the Supreme Court asked the three-party coalition to prove majority via a floor test, and both Fadnavis and Pawar resigned.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led alliance then went on to prove its majority in a floor test, and Thackeray was sworn in as the CM, with Ajit Pawar becoming the deputy CM in this government too.
Madhya Pradesh, 2020
Most recently, in March this year, late Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon called for a floor test, giving the Kamal Nath-led Congress government a 48-hour notice. The governor’s move came after a delegation of BJP leaders, led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, demanded an immediate floor test.
The BJP had called the Kamal Nath administration a “minority government”, after 22 of its MLAs had left the party along with Jyotiraditya Scindia.
The Congress then moved the Supreme Court, challenging the governor’s decision and saying it didn’t have access to its 19 MLAs holed up in Karnataka.
However, the SC ruled on the governor’s side and instructed Kamal Nath to prove his majority, forcing his resignation.
Also read: Why Rajyavardhan Rathore is missing from Rajasthan BJP’s fight to dislodge Gehlot govt
This report has been updated to accurately reflect that the Uttarakhand Governor, K.K. Paul, in 2016 had not recommended President’s Rule, but had sent the Centre reports describing the political situation in the state.
This is what presstitution is all about. Why only last 4 years?
Can anybody count the number of times that elected governments had been dismissed in the years since independence and till the last 4 years? I know that the first communist government that came to power in the country in Kerala was dismissed for no valid reason whatsoever. The floor crossings and corruption had become so endemic with out power hungry politicians that there was a need to even legislate against defection, long before BJP was a political party to reckon with.
Btw, that raises the very question of the relevance of a whip in a democracy. We know how democracy has been subverted to allow dynasties to flourish here.
And now, if the BJP is playing by the rules laid down by its predecessors can they be blamed?
Journalist who believe in fundamentalism and only one GOD and also want non believers to burn in hell , Are telling majority of INDIANS who believe in education and science that only political party supporting proselytizers are the right choice, then they are failing miserably in convincing the majority.