Gehlot govt insists on July 31 session

Sources said the Cabinet took the stand after discussing the suggestions made by Mishra when he returned a proposal from the state government to summon a Vidhan Sabha session.

Also on Tuesday, BJP legislator Madan Dilawar approached the High Court again against the merger of six Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs into the Congress after the 2018 Assembly polls. BSP too moved the court seeking to become a party in the case, as the tussle for power in Rajasthan between the Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps continued.

Amid nationwide protests by Congress workers over the issue, Governor Mishra had on Monday said he had no intention of not calling a session. But he sought a redrafted proposal from the Congress government that includes three points – a 21-day notice for calling a session, live broadcast of the proceedings if there is a trust vote, and social distancing. In addition, the Governor wrote that a session can be called at a short notice if the government says in its new proposal that it planned to seek a vote of confidence.

But sources said the Congress government has not mentioned in its new proposal whether it is seeking a vote of confidence in the assembly session, which it is still insisting should begin on July 31, the date it gave in its last recommendation. 

Rajasthan BJP MLA Madan Dilawar on Tuesday filed two writ petitions challenging the assembly Speaker’s decision to reject his complaint against the merger of six BSP MLAs with the Congress.

The first petition was filed this morning against a communication received from the assembly secretariat Monday that the complaint has been decided and rejected by the Speaker, the counsel for Dilawar said. “Today, we got a detailed order of the Speaker (about the rejection of the complaint). Thereafter, we filed a second petition challenging the detailed order, the counsel said. Dilawar had filed his complaint to the Speaker in March, and on July 24, he moved the High Court alleging inaction by the Speaker on the issue he raised.

The High Court on Monday dismissed his petition as having become infructuous as the Speaker passed the order later on July 24. In the fresh petitions filed on Tuesday against the Speaker’s order, the MLA has challenged the validity, legality and correctness of the Speaker’s July 24 order on his complaint filed in March.

In his complaint to the Speaker, he had prayed that the BSP MLAs be disqualified from Vidhan Sabha under para 2 of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. Dilawar has alleged he was not heard by the Speaker before he decided his complaint on July 24. Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha successfully contested the 2018 assembly elections on BSP tickets, but they all defected to Congress in September 2019.

They submitted an application for merger on September 16, 2019 and the Speaker issued an order two days later.

The Merger of BSP MLAs with the ruling Congress was a boost to the Ashok Gehlot-led government as the tally of Congress increased to 107 in the house of 200.