Published 11:22 IST, July 29th 2020
'What if President refuses to summon Parliament?': Ahmed Patel slams Rajasthan Governor
As the Rajasthan political crisis spirals, Congress' Ahmed Patel has slammed the reluctancy of Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra to convene the assembly
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As the Rajasthan political crisis continues without an end in sight, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel has said that the reluctancy of Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra to convene the assembly session despite repeated proposals from Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sets a 'dangerous precedent.'
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Patel claimed that this is happening 'the first time in the history' of India that a Governor is not ready to convene assembly despite 'aid and advice of elected chief minister.' Pointing out the dangers that would follow such action, the senior Congress leader teased a speculative situation asking, 'What will happen if Rashtrapati refuses to summon Parliament despite Union Cabinet recommending it?'
Perhaps first time in our history we are seeing a Governor reluctant to convene assembly despite aid & advice of elected Chief Minister
— Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) July 29, 2020
If this dangerous precedent is allowed,what will happen if the Rashtrapati refuses to summon Parliament despite Union Cabinet recommending it?
Gehot-Governor tussle over convening Assembly
On Tuesday, CM Gehlot submitted a fresh proposal to the Governor Kalraj Mishra to convene the state assembly from July 31 replying to the 3 conditions laid by Governor. Mishra has suggested Gehlot to give a 21-day notice to convene the Assembly or mention the trust vote as the reason to reconvene the Assembly. Gehlot has reportedly spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the behaviour of Governor Kalraj Mishra. The Governor, on the other hand, sent a report to the Central government expressing concern about the law and order situation in the state.
Earlier this week, facing repeated rejections from the Governor, Chief Minister Gehlot alleged that the Centre is pressurising the Governor Kalraj Mishra to not allow assembly session in the state. He issued a threat to the Governor saying that if he doesn't allow the session, people of the state might gherao the Raj Bhawan and he would not take responsibility for any such incident. Congress MLAs loyal to Gehlot also held a five-hour sit-in at the Raj Bhawan to press for an assembly session.
Moreover, while addressing MLAs at Hotel Fairmont on Saturday, Gehlot said that they would gherao PM's residence if need be. "We will go to Rashtrapati Bhawan to meet the President if needed. Also, if required, we will stage protest outside PM's residence," CM Gehlot said.
Rajasthan legal battle & political crisis
Pilot and his 18 MLAs have challenged the disqualification notices issued by Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi in the Rajasthan High Court. The court has ordered to maintain status-quo staying any action against the 19 rebel MLAs till the next hearing. Meanwhile, Joshi withdrew his plea from Supreme Court against the High Court order asking him to defer his decision on the disqualification notices.
The Congress which is split into two factions stands as such - Gehlot (104), Pilot (19) while BJP has 72 MLAs, with the support of RLP (3) and one Independent MLA in the house of 200 members. 6 of Gehlot's MLAs are originally from BSP and have been ordered to vote against him by Mayawati. The situation remains unclear.
11:22 IST, July 29th 2020