Rajasthan Governor orders state govt to call for Assembly session

Jaipur: Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra on Monday afternoon acceded to the state cabinet’s request to call for an assembly session. The move came swiftly after chief minister Ashok Gehlot told reporters that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi informing him about the Governor’s “behaviour”.

In the notification issued today, the Governor denied that he was delaying the summoning of the House session even though the Congress and the CM have accused him of being “under pressure from the top”.

CM Gehlot, who has been pressing for an assembly session, wants to prove his majority to end the political impasse created after the rebellion by Sachin Pilot, who has since been sacked as the deputy CM and head of the state unit.

Earlier this morning, the Governor sought clarifications from the state government as he returned the proposal by CM Gehlot for the convening of the assembly session from July 31. Citing the coronavirus situation, the Governor said it would be difficult to call all the members of legislative assembly (MLAs) at a short notice.

Governor Mishra, according to news agency ANI, had asked whether CM 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 media,” the governor was quoted as saying by ANI.

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.

In another development, assembly Speaker CP Joshi withdrew his petition from the top court challenging a July 21 order of the high court directing him to defer disqualification proceedings against former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and 18 Congress legislators backing him.