Rajasthan political crisis: Governor listening to his masters' voice, says Congress

Amid the political crisis in Rajasthan, the Congress on Sunday sought to keep up the pressure on Governor Kalraj Mishra and accused him of acting in a partisan way and listening what it dubbed as voices of his masters at the Centre.

New Delhi: Congress on Sunday, made a scathing attack on Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra, over the queries raised by him on the state cabinet's appeal to call an Assembly Session immediately while accusing him of acting in a partisan way.

"The queries reflect a sorry state of affairs of obfuscation, obstruction and dilatory tactics on flimsy, frivolous and non-jurisdictional grounds," said Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

"Such superficial, clearly motivated, digressive and extraneous queries established beyond doubt that they are coming from the highest authorities of the central government and being parroted without change as his master's voice from Raj Bhawan, Jaipur. It decimates the blusher and dignity of the governor's constitutional position," he alleged.

Congress party is even protesting against the Governor for not acceding to the state Government's appeal to call an Assembly Session, in order to prove Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's majority on the floor of the House.

Singhvi, while taking a dig at BJP, said, "While there's a complete call for COVID measures around the country, we have a central government and a state opposition in Rajasthan which has converted it into a 24x7 activity to ensure the downfall of a duly elected government. This shows their priority."

The Congress leader also raised a series of questions in this regard and said, "Is it commonsensical conceivable that any Governor ever should refuse or delay the holding of a floor test, which truly determines who has the numbers? Do objections intended to delay and postpone the floor test and not let the cat out of the bag as to who really has the numbers?"

"Is the Governor and his diverse advisors who have generated such queries not aware of the established jurisprudence- from Constituent Assembly to diverse Supreme Court judgements- that unequivocally establish that the Governor is powerless and without jurisdiction in matters where he is advised by the state Cabinet?" he questioned.

In support of his contentions, Singhvi cited various legal cases and even the Sagarika commission report, saying that "The Governor should not risk determining the issues of majority support, on his own, outside the Assembly. The prudent course for him would be to cause the rival claims to be tested on the floor of the house."

Along with this, he mentioned about the Kihoto Hollohan verdict of 1992, while questioning over the recent Rajasthan High Court on the disqualification of Congress MLAs, and asked, "Are the High Courts not obliged to follow direct, specific, unambiguous SC verdict and adopt handoff policy qua the Speaker's show-cause Notice and adjudication of disqualification complaints at least in the Speaker decides?"

He also raised questions over the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the matter and said, "Why are those, ensconced in the highest executive post of the country, who invented Giants like Mauni Baba for others, not introspecting on their silence in not reminding the constitutional authority is like Governor of their Raj Dharma? Or is there eloquence reserved only for jumlas?"