New Delhi: The Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government has once again informed Governor Kalraj Mishra that it wants the assembly session to be held on 31 July. The move came a day after Mishra asked the government if a 21-day notice can be given before convening the session, and about the agenda.
According to sources, the Rajasthan cabinet held a meeting Tuesday and then sent its reply to Mishra. The meeting was held at the chief minister’s residence in Jaipur, where all the queries raised by the governor were discussed.
“It has been informed through the letter that the session should be held on 31 July and as far as the agenda of the assembly is concerned that is decided by the business advisory committee. So it is the prerogative of the committee to fix the agenda,” said a senior Congress leader who didn’t wish to be named.
According to a second party leader, many sessions have been convened in the past too without giving a 21-day notice.
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What the Governor has done so far
Earlier Monday, Mishra had said that the assembly session needed to be convened in accordance with the constitutional provisions, adding that he had no intention of not calling it.
His move came as he returned the CM’s second proposal seeking a session. Mishra asked if the government would accept a 21-day notice period to the MLAs as required by the protocol. He also asked if it wants a floor test, as that can be a reason to call the assembly in short order.
Mishra also asked the government to clarify how social distancing norms will be maintained during the assembly session. In his letter, he said that according to his knowledge, the seating arrangement for 200 MLAs and 1,000 employees are such that these norms can’t be met.
Earlier, he had returned the Gehlot government’s first proposal to convene an assembly session by pointing out that it did not mention the agenda, the date for which session is to be called, among others. Following this, the Congress MLAs had made demonstrations on the lawns of the Raj Bhawan asking for an assembly session to be convened.
‘Jurisdiction of Speaker’
Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary told reporters in Jaipur that issues like seating arrangement of MLAs and staff or the measures in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19 are issues that the governor can ask the Speaker and not the government.
While the Congress and Gehlot, struck by a rebellion by 19 MLAs led by former deputy CM Sachin Pilot, have been repeatedly calling for an assembly session, emphasising their majority in the 200-member House, the CM hasn’t mentioned a trust vote in his public statements.
Gehlot has also alleged that the BJP is indulging in horse-trading to topple his government.
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