Jaipur: Governor Kalraj Mishra said here on Friday said that he will go by the constitution only. He is being accused of stalling an assembly session asked for by the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to prove his majority on the floor of the house. Gehlot and the MLAs supporting him protesting for more than four hours at Governor Kalraj Mishra’s house, accusing him of sitting on a request to call for an assembly session because he was “under pressure” to stall a test of strength, then followed it up with a cabinet meeting at the CM’s residence in which the points raised by the Governor were discussed. The cabinet passed a resolution which will be sent to the Governor today to ask the Governor to call for an emergent assembly meet to discuss ” coronavirus and the economic crisis” according to a report on NDTV.com
Background to these developments:
I n a dramatic show of strength hours after the Sachin Pilot Camp secured protection for now from disqualification from the house from both the High Court and Supreme Court, Gehlot and Congress MLAs loyal to him held a five-hour sit-in at the Governor’s House, Raj Bhawan, to press for an assembly session. Gehlot submitted a list of 102 MLAs to the Governor, who asked him to send a fresh request for a session. The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government, which is facing a political crisis after a rebellion by 19 dissident Congress MLAs, including rebel party leader Sachin Pilot, wants to hold the assembly session to prove the majority. It has now used the excuse of the COVID19 crisis to push for it.
This drama occurred after the High Court and the Supreme Court that there can be no action for now on disqualification notices sent to the rebels last week. A petition has also been submitted by the Pilot Camp that the Centre be made a party to the dispute as its a constitutional matter. This means the Speaker cannot take any action against the rebels until the larger constitutional question of his powers is decided. That question will be taken up by the Supreme Court on Monday.
The Congress said it ended the protest following an assurance from the Governor that he will abide by Article 174 of the constitution, after getting the clarifications from the Chief Minister. The Governor said he needed the state government’s response on few points before making any announcement, claiming that Gehlot had not given any “justification” or “agenda” for calling the session on such short notice. Under the normal process, a 21-day notice is required for the session to be called, Mishra said in a statement. “The date on which the assembly session is to be convened is not mentioned in the cabinet note and no approval has been given by the cabinet for the same,” he said. The statement also said the state government should ensure freedom and free movement of all the MLAs.It asked the government to take note of the COVID-19 crisis and suggest how the session should be held given the current situation.
Gehlot believes he has the numbers to retain power if he faces a trust vote now. If he does win, there cannot be any vote for the next six months. The rules say the rebels must follow the party whip in the assembly or risk being disqualified. Despite the court-ordered status quo, the rebels can be disqualified if they vote against their own party. But their vote will still count.
The Congress has a narrow lead over the opposition and is only one past the majority mark of 101 in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly. Team Pilot claims the support of 30 MLAs, but so far, the evidence points to only 19. The BJP has 72. Including smaller parties and independent members, the opposition has 97 at the moment.
If Pilot’s lot is disqualified, it will help the Chief Minister by bringing the majority markdown. If they win, however, the case to vote as Congress MLAs, they can endanger the government.
In a separate development that could affect Gehlot’s tally, a BJP MLA has petitioned the High Court against the merger of a group of six MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with the Congress. The BSP MLAs had joined the Congress last year, pushing up its overall tally.
