Rajasthan assembly session from August 14

Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra accepted Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s revised proposal to convene the session of the assembly from August 14, capping the nearly week-long face-off over the issue.

A Raj Bhawan communique said the Governor has issued verbal orders to make adequate preparations to prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the session

Facing a rebellion by his sacked Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and at least 18 Congress MLAs, Gehlot has been demanding a session of the assembly to show that he enjoys majority, but has stopped short from mentioning it in his communique to the Governor.

Earlier, the Governor had returned the state government’s proposal to convene a session of the assembly for the third time, prompting the Congress to describe him as “killer of democracy”.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, at a function at the state Congress office, revealed that he had received a “second love letter” from the Governor, turning down his third request to convene a session of the assembly.

“Kalraj Ji, you are going to earn the infamy of a #KILLER_OF_DEMOCRACY. Loktantra ki Yamraj, BJP ke Pyare Kalraj (the lord of death of democracy, BJP favourite Kalraj),” Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha said.

Gehlot had called on Mishra on Wednesday afternoon and agreed to revise the proposal after addressing the Governor’s concerns of a 21-day notice.

The only concession the Governor appears to have made is to count is the 21-day period from the day he received the first recommendation from the Rajasthan cabinet to convene the assembly session.