Raj Bhavan demands 21-day notice, says short notice can be accepted for trust vote
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra continued to play hard ball with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on the issue of convening a State Assembly session, which could be used by Gehlot to prove his majority on the floor of the House and derail Sachin Pilot camp’s plot to topple his Government. The Governor suggested a 21-day notice to the MLAs even as Congress held countrywide protest against “murder of democracy.”
While rejecting a second proposal from the State Cabinet to hold an early Assembly session from July 31, the Governor has asked for a for a 21-day notice for the session.
Governor Kalraj Mishra, according to news agency ANI, had also asked whether Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wants a trust vote in the State Assembly.
“Do you want to move Motion of Confidence? It is not mentioned in the proposal but you have been speaking about it in the media,” the Governor was quoted as saying by ANI.
“The Raj Bhavan (Governor) has no intention of not calling the Assembly session... If the Government wants to win a vote of confidence, then it can become a reasonable ground for calling the Assembly session on short notice,” said the Governor in a statement, adding it would be difficult to summon all MLAs at a short notice during the pandemic.
“Can you consider giving 21 days’ notice to the MLAs?” it added.
The Governor also asked how social distancing will be maintained during the session.
The State Cabinet had recommended that the Assembly session should be convened from July 31 to discuss Covid-19 situation.
Experts feel that the Governor’s advice to give three weeks to enable the MLAs to assemble for the session is illogical. “The Governor should know that all the MLAs are camping at only two places — in Fairmount Hotel in Jaipur, and two hotels at Manesar. It would take them no more than few hours to assemble,” said a senior leader.
The Governor has also said that if a trust vote is moved in the House the entire proceedings should be recorded and asked the Government how it intended to maintain social distancing if the House is convened.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi too has called for a virtual meeting of Rajya Sabha MPs on Thursday, to hold discussions on the “current political situation’ and the Covid-19 situation.
In a memorandum to the President, the Congress asked the President to intervene in the current political crisis. The memorandum states that the BJP is conspiring to topple the State Government through horse-trading tactics. Without worrying about the dignity of his post, Governor Kalraj Mishra is defying the Constitution at the behest of the ruling party.
Taking swipe on the Governor’s ultimatum, Congress chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala drew a comparison between the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh crisis. “Constitution of Governor in Rajasthan — permission to convene session only on 21 days’ prior notice. Constitution of Governor in Madhya Pradesh — instructions for calling a session at 10 in the morning by writing a letter at 1 o’clock in the night — lockdown announced only after toppling the Government. Truth vs power,” Surjewala said.
The Congress held countrywide protest against “murder of democracy”. Congress leaders picketed before the Raj Bhavans in different States and also courted arrest, Rajasthan Assembly Speaker withdrew his appeal against the High Court’s order asking him to defer the disqualification proceedings against sacked Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 dissident Congress MLAs.
Upset with the Governor, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has written to President Ram Nath Kovind and spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Governor’s refusal to abide by the State Cabinet’s recommendation. Gehlot had also written a letter to the Prime Minister on the matter a few days ago.
Gehlot said he had a phone conversation with the Prime Minister and spoke about the behaviour of the Governor on the ongoing political crisis in the State. Gehlot also spoke about the letter written by him to the Prime Minister seven days ago.
Taking a swipe at Kalraj Mishra, Gehlot said he would respond to the Governor’s “six-page love letter” pertaining to the Assembly session by today evening. The remarks came hours after the Governor rejected the Chief Minister’s fresh proposal for a session on July 31.
The Governor had in the past returned an earlier recommendation by the Government, asking for clarifications on six specific points.
Both Gehlot and Pilot camps are making contradictory claims about their strength. . Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told his party MLAs camping at Fairmount hotel in Jaipur that three MLAs of Sachin Pilot camps would join them in the next 48 hours.
On the other hand, Pilot camp MLA Hemaram Choudhary claimed that 10-15 MLAs of Ashok Gehlot camp are in contact with them and are saying they will come to our side as soon as they are set free.
“If Gehlot removes restrictions, it’ll become clear how many MLAs remain on their side,” he said.
Earlier, the Supreme Court allowed the Rajasthan Assembly Speaker to withdraw his appeal against the High Court’s order asking him to defer till July 24 the disqualification proceedings against 18 dissident Congress MLAs.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Speaker CP Joshi, told a Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra that the Rajasthan High Court had passed a fresh order on July 24 and they were weighing the legal options.
While withdrawing the plea, Sibal told the Bench that the appeal had become infructuous as the apex court did not stay the earlier High Court order passed on July 21 asking the Speaker to defer disqualification proceedings.
“The SLP (special leave petition) is withdrawn with liberty to file a fresh SLP and keeping all grounds open,” advocate Sunil Fernandes, who also represents Joshi, said.
The High Court had ordered on July 24 maintenance of status quo on the disqualification notice issued by the Speaker to 19 dissident Congress MLAs, including Pilot.
The Rajasthan Governor’s approach has drawn flak from several quarters. Kalraj Mishra has become the first Governor in Independent India to reject a State Cabinet’s recommendation to convene State Assembly session. Three former law Ministers of the Congress on Monday wrote to the Governor, saying the delay in holding the Assembly session has resulted in an avoidable constitutional crisis.
“Having served as Union Ministers of Law and Justice in different periods of time and as students of Constitutional law, we are of the clear view that established legal position obliges the Governor to call the Assembly session in accordance with the advice of the State Cabinet,” senior Congress leaders and former Law Ministers Ashwani Kumar, Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid said.
Congress leader P Chidambaram says, “Governors appointed by the BJP since 2014 have repeatedly violated the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India. In the process, they have gravely impaired parliamentary democracy, its conventions and traditions. I may remind that there are at least three landmark judgments of the courts when the Governors concerned acted in gross violation of the Constitution in Arunachal Pradesh (2016), Uttarakhand (2016) and Karnataka .”