Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot submitted a fresh proposal to Governor Kalraj Mishra. (File)
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot - struggling to keep his government afloat -- has sent a second proposal to Governor Kalraj Mishra for starting the assembly session. The proposed date is July 31 and the agenda cited is coronavirus. There is no word on floor test. Mr Gehlot maintains that some MLAs supporting him are being held hostage at the rebel camp in Gurugram and once they come to Jaipur, his numbers will rise further. The Governor, who turned down the earlier proposal pointing out that it did not mention a date or a reason for the assembly session, said he is examining it. The Congress, meanwhile, is planning a countrywide protest against the BJP over the Rajasthan issue on Monday.Sources said the Congress is divided over pursuing the case legally in the Supreme Court. A section wants the party to pull its petition out of court and handle the matter politically.
Here are the top 10 points in this big story:
Winning a trust vote will give Ashok Gehlot's government a respite for the next six months. But if a trust vote is held now, when the rebels are yet to be disqualified, the rebels can vote against their own party. Even if they get disqualified later, their vote will count.
Governor Kalraj Mishra had nixed the cabinet's last proposal, citing six objections. He also asked the Chief Minister to submit a fresh proposal. Ashok Gehlot, who held a protest for hours at the Governor's home on Friday, called it a "BJP conspiracy" to stall the floor test.
Today, the Supreme Court is expected to examine the issue of the powers of assembly speakers and whether courts have a say in their decisions.
The Congress, however, is divided on the petition that was expected to be heard alongside -- a challenge to the Rajasthan High Court's freeze order on the disqualification proceedings against Sachin Pilot. A section of the party prefers to pursue the matter politically and the decision has been left to the party's high command.
The Congress is planning a countrywide protest and said they would go to the President to foil the "BJP conspiracy". The party, however, said they will not hold the protest outside the Governor's House In Jaipur, where extra security measures are being taken.
Congress's Rahul Gandhi tweeted a video on Sunday attempting to mobilise the people against the BJP over the events in Rajasthan. Using hashtag #SpeakUpForDemocracy, his Hindi post urged the people to "Unite and raise our voice for democracy".
The Congress protest at the Governor's House on Friday came hours after the Sachin Pilot camp secured temporary protection from disqualification in assembly from the Rajasthan High Court.
The High Court said the Speaker cannot take any action against Mr Pilot and his rebel MLAs until the larger constitutional question regarding his powers is decided by the Supreme Court.
A disqualification of the rebels before a trust vote will bring down the majority mark in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly. Mr Gehlot claims he has the numbers, but if the mark stays at 101, his majority will be wafer-thin, leaving his government vulnerable.
The Congress has a narrow lead over the opposition and is only one past the majority mark of 101 in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly. Team Pilot claims the support of 30 MLAs, but so far, the evidence points to only 19. The BJP has 72. Including smaller parties and independent members, the opposition has 97 at the moment..
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