Don't want clashes, hope Guv holds Assembly session from July 31: Raj govt

Jaipur: Amid a political tussle, the Rajasthan government on Tuesday said that the governor is the head of the family, and that they don’t want clashes. The remarks were made by Rajasthan Transport Minister Pratap Singh after a cabinet meeting where governor Kalraj Mishra’s three conditions for calling an assembly session were discussed.

“We do not want any clashes with the governor, he is the head of the family. Constitution says governor cannot deny the cabinet’s proposal. We hope that respecting the constitution the governor will approve the proposal of starting the session from July 31,” said Singh.

The minister also added that the state government has replied to all the queries raised by governor Kalraj Mishra.

The cabinet meeting was held at chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s residence in Jaipur.

The Congress government in Rajasthan is in turmoil after simmering differences between Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot came out in the open.

The Congress has accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading to bring down the Gehlot government. It has also accused the BJP of pressuring the governor to delay the assembly session. The BJP and Mishra have rejected all the allegations.

Gehlot wants an assembly session to be convened so that he can prove his majority. He has approached the governor with a proposal to convene the session of the state assembly.

Mishra agreed to calling the session, but put forward three conditions on Monday - a 21-day notice for the sitting of the House; live-streaming of floor test; and ensuring social distancing in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.

“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. But it has to be said,” a Raj Bhavan statement said on Monday.

Congress leaders said a 21-day notice isn’t necessary and pointed out that in 2014, the third session of the 14th Rajasthan assembly was summoned on September 7 and the proceedings of the House began on September 15. “There have been umpteen instances when the assembly was called with a much shorter notice,” said Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

The governor had earlier questioned the need for calling the session when the government already had the majority and the disqualification matter was pending in the Supreme Court.