NEW DELHI — Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra has asked Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to clarify his position on the law and order situation after the gherao of the Raj Bhavan here by Congress MLAs on Friday.
In a stern letter, Mishra posed several questions on Friday’s incidents to Gehlot and asked him to clarify his stance.
In the letter in Hindi addressed to Gehlot, Mishra said, “If you and your Home Ministry can’t protect the Governor, then what about the law and order in the state? What agency should be contacted for Governor’s security? I’ve never heard such statement from any CM. Is this not the beginning of a wrong trend where MLAs protest at Raj Bhawan?”
The statement that the Governor was referring to was issued by Gehlot where he said that if Raj Bhavan is gheraoed by the people of the state, it is not his responsibility.
“Before I could discuss the matter with experts regarding the Assembly session, you have publicly said that if Raj Bhawan is ‘gheraoed’, it is not your responsibility,” Mishra said.
Mishra added that in his long political career, he has not heard any Chief Minister say such a thing. “I saw your statement on electronic media today in which you tried to give a political colour to the constitutional obligations and constitutional decisions, on account of which I am sad and hurt,” Mishra said.
“Once I receive a letter from you, I will have to take a decision keeping all constitutional obligations in mind and this right has been given to me by the Constitution,” Mishra said in the scathing letter.
Mishra maintained that no one is above constitutional decorum.
Stressing that there should not be any kind of pressure politics, he said that on Thursday night, the state government issued a letter for calling the Assembly session on a very short notice.
“The Raj Bhavan consulted legal experts,” he said, adding that a letter was sent by the Raj Bhavan on Friday to the state Parliamentary Affairs Department, for a response to some points including that the date from which the assembly session is to be convened was not mentioned in the Cabinet Note and no approval had been given by the cabinet.
“Neither justification nor any agenda has been proposed to call the session on short notice. In the normal process, 21 days notice is required to call a session,” it added.
Rahul calls for Assembly Session
Meanwhile, alleging Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging into a “conspiracy” to destabilise the Congress-led Rajasthan government, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi demanded Governor Kalraj Mishra to convene the assembly session.
“The conspiracy to demolish the Rajasthan government is clear. This is an insult to the eight crore people of Rajasthan. The Governor should call a session of the Legislative Assembly so that the truth comes before the country,” tweeted Gandhi on Friday night.
The assertion came soon after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and MLAs from his camp reached the Raj Bhavan on Friday afternoon and raised slogans demanding the Assembly’s special session soon, as they sat in the lawn. The MLAs reached the hotel around 2.30 p.m. in four buses.
Rahul Gandhi said India is ruled in accordance with the constitution and law. He also said that any government is formed and run based on people’s mandate.
— IANS
