JAIPUR: Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra on Wednesday returned a third proposal of the Ashok Gehlot government on convening the Assembly session, saying if the government wanted to prove its majority, it should have written as much in its proposal.
“Call a session whenever you want. If you do not want to prove the majority, then what’s the urgency to call the session? As per rules, call a session after giving a 21-day notice. Why do they want a session on July 31 and what is the agenda? I never got a reply about that,” Mishra said.
The governor was referring to a letter sent by the Gehlot government on Tuesday which didn’t answer the three questions asked by him, but instead talked about the constitutional rights. Gehlot and his ministers have told the media repeatedly that the Congress government has the support of 102 MLAs, one more than the majority mark.
Why, then, is the government refusing to mention floor test as the agenda for the assembly session in the proposal sent to the governor? Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Gulabchand Kataria said since Gehlot was not convinced about the majority, he was calling the session to find ways to disqualify the rebel MLAs led by Sachin Pilot.
However, Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary says the governor is satisfied with the majority. “Where is the need for a majority test in such a situation?” he questioned.
Meanwhile, by moving the high court, the BSP has created more trouble for the Gehlot government. With 19 Congress MLAs of the Pilot camp and three Independents supporting Pilot, the total number of MLAs opposing the Gehlot government in the 200-member House has risen to 97 — three short of the majority mark.
Experts say if the proposal sent to the governor mentions the majority test, then the government will have to go directly for voting. With 22 MLAs already rebelling, even if two MLAs cross-vote or MLAs of the allies BTP or CPM are absent, the government is in danger of falling.
The BJP strategy seems to be to delay the Assembly session in the hope that along with Pilot, it will lure away a few more MLAs and succeed in toppling the government.
Though the government claims it has the support of 102 MLAs, one MLA, Social Welfare Minister Master Bhanwarlal, is very sick and can’t vote. Speaker CP Joshi can vote only when the numbers are tied.