The Ashok Gehlot cabinet discussed the points raised by the governor during the convening of an assembly session.
Jaipur:
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot chaired a cabinet meeting at his residence on Friday evening, ending a long day of great drama which saw Mr Gehlot and MPs backing him to protest for more than four hours at the house of Governor Kalraj Mishra, accusing him of sitting on demand to call a montage because he was “under pressure” to stall a test of strength. During the meeting which took place well after midnight, which lasted nearly two and a half hours, the cabinet discussed the six points raised by the state governor regarding the convocation as an assembly session.
The cabinet adopted a proposal to convene the assembly session, which will be sent to the governor this morning. It was decided at the cabinet meeting that the agenda for the assembly session would be the coronavirus and the economic crisis, sources said.
Mr Gehot and Congress MPs loyal to Rajasthan’s Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot held a five-hour sit-in at the house of Governor Raj Bhawan to lobby for an assembly session in a dramatic show of force hours after the pilot camp of Sachin obtained protection for now from disqualification from home.
Mr. Gehlot submitted a list of 102 deputies to the governor, who asked him to send a new session request. Congress said it ended the protest following assurances from the governor that he would comply with article 174 of the constitution, after obtaining clarifications from the chief minister.
Bombed by Congress for apparently aiding former Rajasthani deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot’s revolt against the Ashok Gehlot government by blocking an assembly session, Governor Kalraj Mishra said on Friday he would not respect than the constitution.
The governor said he needed the state government’s response on a few points before making an announcement, saying Mr. Gehlot had given no “justification” or “agenda” to convene the session in such a short time.
As part of the normal process, 21 days’ notice is required for the session to be convened, Mishra said in a statement.
“The date by which the session of the assembly is to be called is not mentioned in the cabinet note and no approval has been given by the cabinet for it,” he said.
The statement also said that the state government should guarantee the freedom and free movement of all MPs.
He asked the government to take note of the COVID-19 crisis and suggest how the session should behave given the current situation.
