Rajasthan govt to send revised proposal to Governor for Assembly session

The Rajasthan Cabinet is likely to meet again on Saturday to revise a proposal to be sent to Governor Kalraj Mishra requesting him to convene a session of the Assembly.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, facing a revolt by some Congress MLAs led by Sachin Pilot, chaired a meeting of the Cabinet on Friday night to discuss the points raised by the governor on its earlier proposal.

"Discussions on the points raised by the governor with regard to calling the Assembly session were held in the meeting last night," a source said, adding that the Cabinet is likely to meet again on Saturday.

A revised proposal will be forwarded to the governor after approval by the Cabinet.

The Congress government is pushing for a session of the Assembly so that the chief minister can prove his majority on the floor of the House after the Rajasthan High Court on Friday ordered that status quo should be maintained on the disqualification notices sent out by the Speaker to Pilot and 18 other MLAs.

The Governor on Friday asked the Ashok Gehlot government why it wanted to call an Assembly session to secure a vote of confidence if it already had the majority.

The governor posed the query in a six-point questionnaire entailing a note sent by the Raj Bhawan to the state Parliament Affairs Department, the Raj Bhawan said in a statement.

In his note to the state government, Governor Mishra emphasised that no one is above the Constitutional dignity and no pressure politics should be resorted to. He also pointed out that neither had any date for convening the session been mentioned in the Cabinet note, annexed with the government's request, nor had the Cabinet given its approval to it.

The government has neither given any reason for calling the session on such a short notice nor proposed any agenda for it, said the governor, pointing out that a 21-day notice is mandatory for calling an Assembly session.

In the statement, the Raj Bhawan added that Governor Mishra had also asked the government to ensure the independence and freedom of movement of all members of the legislative assembly. On Friday, the chief minister said that a letter was forwarded to the governor on Thursday night for calling the session, but he had not taken any decision on it.

Congress MLAs loyal to Gehlot on Friday held a five-hour sit-in at the Raj Bhawan to press for an Assembly session.

The Congress said it ended the sit-in following an assurance from the Governor that he will abide by Article 174 of the Constitution, after getting some clarifications from the CM. The provision deals with the Governor's role in summoning a session of the assembly.