The Congress continued to blame Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra for the “delay” in convening the Assembly even as the Ashok Gehlot Cabinet stuck to its decision of beginning the session on July 31. The Cabinet also sent a revised proposal to Mishra without mentioning “trust vote” in the agenda for the session.

The Governor had on Monday asked the Cabinet to specifically mention the move to conduct a trust vote in the agenda and wanted at least 21-days notice for convening the session.

AICC general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Avinash Pande alleged Mishra has taken a partisan role in favour of one party. Pande said democracy in India has now started going beyond rules and laws, and political interests are taking upper hand in the functioning of Constitutional institutions. “Governor has also fallen for the authoritarian politics of the BJP,” Pande said in Twitter.

Meanwhile, a PTI report quoting sources said the Gehlot 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. Amid nationwide protests by Congress workers over the Governor’s apparent reluctance to call a session, Mishra had on Monday said he had no such intention. But sources said the Ashok Gehlot 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.

Asked about the agenda of the proposed session, Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said it was for the Business Advisory Committee of the assembly to decide. On social distancing in the Vidhan Sabha as a precaution against coronavirus infection, the Minister said it was for the Speaker to make the arrangements.

“The BJP stands exposed. They are changing their statements,” he said, in an apparent reference to the Speaker’s last note. The Minister was also dismissive of the 21-day notice requirement. He said 10 days have already passed since the government proposed a session and asked why the Governor hadn’t given a date himself.

On BSP MLAs’ shifting

Meanwhile, Rajasthan BJP MLA Madan Dilawar on Tuesday filed two writ petitions challenging the 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 on 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.

In his complaint to the Speaker, he had prayed that the BSP MLAs be disqualified from the Rajasthan 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 on his complaint on July 24.

On Monday, he had staged a dharna in the chamber of the assembly secretary to get a copy of the order and was given a communication saying that his complaint had been rejected.

A detailed order was given to him Tuesday.

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 the Congress in September 2019.

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