Raj govt sends new proposal to Guv on assembly session

The Rajasthan government on Tuesday sent a revised proposal for an assembly session to governor Kalraj Mishra, sticking to its demand that the sitting should begin on July 31 and refusing to mention if it would seek a trust vote.

Sources said the Cabinet took the stand after discussing the suggestions made by Mishra when he returned a proposal from the state government to summon a Vidhan Sabha session.

Amid nationwide protests by Congress workers over the governor's apparent reluctance to call a session, Mishra had on Monday said he had no such intention.

But he sought a redrafted proposal, the second time in the past few days, including three points -- a 21-day notice for calling a session, live broadcast of the proceedings if there is a trust vote, and social distancing.

In addition, the governor had written that a session can be called at a short notice if the government says in its new proposal that it planned to seek a vote of confidence.

But sources said the Ashok Gehlot government has not mentioned in its new proposal whether it is seeking a vote of confidence in the assembly session, which it is still insisting should begin on July 31, the date it gave in its last recommendation.

Asked about the agenda of the proposed session, transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said it was for the Business Advisory Committee of the assembly to decide.

On social distancing in the Vidhan Sabha to fight coronavirus, the minister said it was for the speaker to make the arrangements.

"The BJP stands exposed. They are changing their statements," he said, in an apparent reference to the Speaker's last note. The minister was also dismissive of the 21-day notice requirement.

He said “10 days” have already passed since the government proposed a session and asked why the Governor hadn't given a date himself.

"We want permission to call the assembly session, which is our right. We don't want any confrontation with the Governor and we hope that he will give his approval this time,” Khachariyawas told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

“He has no right to be raising queries. Yet we are giving a reply," the minister said.

He said there was no rivalry with the Governor. “He is the head of our family.”

In his note, governor Mishra had said media statements by the state government indicated that it wanted to prove its majority through a vote of confidence, but this has not been mentioned in its proposal.

"If the government wants to win a vote of confidence, then it can become a reasonable ground for calling the assembly session on a short notice,” a press note said Monday, quoting the governor.

This is the third time Ashok Gehlot government has sent a proposal to the governor for an assembly session, amid the crisis the Congress faces in the state after a rebellion by Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident MLAs.

The minister alleged that after Rajasthan, the BJP wants to target West Bengal, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

The Congress has alleged that the Mishra is acting “under pressure” from the BJP government at the Centre.

AICC general secretary Avinash Pande in a series of tweets questioned the governor for not calling the assembly session.

“Kalraj Mishra is identified as a skilled administrator and a seasoned leader who respects political integrity, and holds a dignified post of the Governor of Rajasthan. His image has always been that of an idealistic leader,” he said.

“But in the context of the crisis in Rajasthan, the Governor of Rajasthan is adopting a biased approach to fulfil the interests of a particular party, which is violation of the rules mentioned in our Constitution,” he added.