Rajasthan assembly to start from August 14, orders Governor Kalraj Mishra
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra on Wednesday approved a revised proposal sent by the Ashok Gehlot-led state government to convene the Assembly session from August 14. The Governor in his order has also directed that all measures should be taken during the conduct of Assembly Session, as per the guidelines issued to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The notice said the Governor has "approved the proposal to start the fifth session of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from August 14, sent by the Cabinet".
Mishra's decision came after he earlier rejected several proposals from the Congress-led state government in an attempt to end the stalemate in the state, which began with the rebellion of now-sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot who led 18 other dissident MLAs and revolted against the state government.
Earlier in the day, Rajasthan assembly Speaker moved the Supreme Court challenging the July 24 order of the High Court which had directed maintenance of status quo on the disqualification notice issued to 19 dissident Congress MLAs, including Sachin Pilot.
In his petition, Speaker C P Joshi, has sought stay on the Rajasthan High Court's order contending that it is “ex-facie unconstitutional” and is a “direct intrusion” into the domain exclusively reserved for the Speaker under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
The plea, filed through advocate Sunil Fernandes, claimed that the high court’s order is a “direct interference” in the ‘proceedings of the House' under the Tenth Schedule which is prohibited under Article 212 of the Constitution.
This was the second round of litigation in the apex court in the Rajasthan political issue as on July 27, the top court had allowed the Assembly Speaker to withdraw his plea against the high court's July 21 order asking him to defer till July 24 the disqualification proceedings against these MLAs.
Terming the high court order as a “direct interference” in the proceedings of the House, the plea said, “It is submitted that the impugned order interdicts the petitioner/Speaker from acting under the Tenth Schedule at the stage of notice itself and restrains him from even proceeding to call for replies/comments from the respondents (MLAs)”.
Rajasthan Congress is in turmoil after simmering differences between Sachin Pilot and Gehlot came out in the open. The Congress has accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading to bring down the Gehlot government. The BJP has rejected the allegations.
