Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra's conduct unconstitutional

There is an apparent lull in political activity in Rajasthan with Governor Kalraj Mishra accepting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s recommendation to convene the state Assembly on August 14. Until then, the Congress MLAs and other legislators backing Gehlot will be politically quarantined in hotels and resorts, and the 18 MLAs backing former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot will be cooped up in Manesar in BJP-ruled Haryana. This is low politics which shows the MLAs as vulnerable, unprincipled and prone to commerce, and their leaders as unsure, insecure and ready to use coercion and confinement to keep their flock together. These scenes have been seen before in other states. What is new is the Governor acting in a way no other Governor has acted before in rejecting a Council of Ministers’ right to call an Assembly session.

The Governor stalled the government's recommendation for over a week, asking for clarifications, demanding fresh proposals and laying down conditions, without a law, a constitutional provision or a court judgement to support his conduct. The Constitution is clear that the Governor has to convene the session on the recommendation of the cabinet, and the Supreme Court has clearly said that no discretion is vested “with the Governor, in the matter of summoning and dissolving the House.” The court has also said that the Governor, being a nominee of the President, “cannot have overriding powers over the representatives of the people and/or the executive government.’’ The Rajasthan Governor has set another bad precedent, marking another low in constitutional conduct. It should be noted that he violated the Constitution and went against court judgements literally and most brazenly, not by making use of some loopholes or by clever interpretations of laws. It shows that he did not care for what the Constitution or the courts said and had no compunction in devaluing his constitutional office and acting as a political agent of the central government.

Gehlot had no choice but to accept the Governor’s condition of giving a 21-day notice for the Assembly session. No such conditions have ever been made in the past, but the chief minister had to make a compromise and accept that because a stalemate might only make his government’s position weaker. He also seems to be ready for a political compromise with his statement that the rebels are welcome if they come back, repenting. Unfortunately, it will be the people of Rajasthan who will pay the price for this long-drawn, Governor-facilitated political drama. A quick confidence vote would have settled the matter one way or the other and allowed the state to focus on the pandemic and governance.