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Rajasthan Assembly session going to be crucial for Govt
The coming Budget Session of Rajasthan State Assembly is going to be a litmus test for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his Congress Government. It has a wafer thin majority with only two MLAs above 50 per cent mark. While two Congress MLAs — Mahipal Maderna and Malkhan Singh — currently in jail for their alleged involvement in the Bhanwari Devi murder case — would not be able to attend the session beginning from February 27.
As this was not enough, Speaker Deepender Singh Shekhawat during the session is expected to give his ruling on the merger of the six-member BSP with Congress, which was challenged under the anti-defection law.
As the CBI is yet to file its chargesheet in the Bhanwari Devi case, sacked Minister Maderna and Malkhan Singh have not been able to seek bail. If they want to attend the Assembly session, they have to approach the court for the same. But so far, both of them have not filed any petition in this regard.
Though the Congress had suspended both the MLAs from the party, they are still very much members of its legislative wing as only the Congress Legislature Party or its leader, Gehlot, could suspend them from it. But this is unlikely to happen as it would reduce the strength of the Congress legislators in the 200-member Assembly. Though about a dozen independent legislators have most of the time sided with the ruling party, this could not be taken for granted in the changing political scenario due to the fast approaching of Assembly elections.
In the last Assembly elections, the Congress had won 96 seats and was short of five to form a Government on its own. At that time, eight independents, including some rebels, pledged their support to the Congress to facilitate Gehlot to form Government.
In early 2009 and just before the Lok Sabha elections, the six-member BSP legislature party announced its merger with the Congress. All of them were rewarded by making Ministers or parliamentary secretaries.
The State unit of the party had challenged this merger and hearing in this regard was going on with the Speaker of the Assembly for the past two-and-a-half years. Only in the last week, Speaker Shekhawat said that he would pronounce his decision in the Budget Session of the Assembly. Now Gehlot and his party colleagues are keeping their fingers crossed, though they are confident that the ruling would go in their favour.
In another interesting development, all the six former BSP legislators are not happy with Gehlot as they were feeling ignored in running the Government. Some of them are hoping that the Speaker would annul the merger as they are not sure of getting the Congress party ticket in the coming Assembly elections.
The coming Budget Session of Rajasthan State Assembly is going to be a litmus test for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his Congress Government. It has a wafer thin majority with only two MLAs above 50 per cent mark. While two Congress MLAs — Mahipal Maderna and Malkhan Singh — currently in jail for their alleged involvement in the Bhanwari Devi murder case — would not be able to attend the session beginning from February 27.
As this was not enough, Speaker Deepender Singh Shekhawat during the session is expected to give his ruling on the merger of the six-member BSP with Congress, which was challenged under the anti-defection law.
As the CBI is yet to file its chargesheet in the Bhanwari Devi case, sacked Minister Maderna and Malkhan Singh have not been able to seek bail. If they want to attend the Assembly session, they have to approach the court for the same. But so far, both of them have not filed any petition in this regard.
Though the Congress had suspended both the MLAs from the party, they are still very much members of its legislative wing as only the Congress Legislature Party or its leader, Gehlot, could suspend them from it. But this is unlikely to happen as it would reduce the strength of the Congress legislators in the 200-member Assembly. Though about a dozen independent legislators have most of the time sided with the ruling party, this could not be taken for granted in the changing political scenario due to the fast approaching of Assembly elections.
In the last Assembly elections, the Congress had won 96 seats and was short of five to form a Government on its own. At that time, eight independents, including some rebels, pledged their support to the Congress to facilitate Gehlot to form Government.
In early 2009 and just before the Lok Sabha elections, the six-member BSP legislature party announced its merger with the Congress. All of them were rewarded by making Ministers or parliamentary secretaries.
The State unit of the party had challenged this merger and hearing in this regard was going on with the Speaker of the Assembly for the past two-and-a-half years. Only in the last week, Speaker Shekhawat said that he would pronounce his decision in the Budget Session of the Assembly. Now Gehlot and his party colleagues are keeping their fingers crossed, though they are confident that the ruling would go in their favour.
In another interesting development, all the six former BSP legislators are not happy with Gehlot as they were feeling ignored in running the Government. Some of them are hoping that the Speaker would annul the merger as they are not sure of getting the Congress party ticket in the coming Assembly elections.
