Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot chaired a cabinet meeting at his residence on Friday night, ending a long day of high drama which saw Mr Gehlot and the MLAs supporting him protesting for more than four hours at Governor Kalraj Mishra's house, accusing him of sitting on the request of calling an assembly session because he was "under pressure" to stall a test of strength. During the meeting that went on well past midnight, lasting for nearly two and half hours, the cabinet discussed the six points raised by the state Governor regarding calling as assembly session.
The cabinet passed a proposal to call the assembly session, which will be sent to the Governor this morning. It was decided in the cabinet meeting that the agenda of the assembly session will be coronavirus and the economic crisis, sources said.
Mr Gehot and Congress MLAs loyal to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot held a five-hour sit-in at the Governor's House, Raj Bhawan, to press for an assembly session, in a dramatic show of strength hours after the Sachin Pilot Camp secured protection for now from disqualification from the house.
Mr Gehlot submitted a list of 102 MLAs to the Governor, who asked him to send a fresh request for a session. The Congress said it ended the protest following an assurance from the Governor that he will abide by Article 174 of the constitution, after getting the clarifications from the Chief Minister.
Bombarded by the Congress for seemingly helping former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot's revolt against the Ashok Gehlot government by stalling an assembly session, Governor Kalraj Mishra on Friday said that he will go by the constitution only.
The governor said he needed the state government's response on few points before making any announcement, claiming that Mr Gehlot had not given any "justification" or "agenda" for calling the session on such a short notice.
Under the normal process, a 21-day notice is required for the session to be called, Mr Mishra said in a statement.
"The date on which the assembly session is to be convened is not mentioned in the cabinet note and no approval has been given by the cabinet for the same," he said.
The statement also said the state government should ensure freedom and free movement of all the MLAs.
It asked the government to take note of the COVID-19 crisis and suggest how the session should be held given the current situation.
