BJP conspiracy to topple Rajasthan govt clear, Guv must call Assembly Session: Rahul Gandhi

He also said Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra should call an assembly session soon in the desert state.

"The country is ruled in accordance with the law and constitution. Governments are formed and run based on people's mandate. BJP's conspiracy to topple the Rajasthan government is clear. This is an insult to 8 crore people of Rajasthan. The governor must call assembly session so that the truth comes before the country," Rahul wrote in a tweet in Hindi.

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal too slammed Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra for not calling an assembly session and ignoring his constitutional responsibility.

"There is today a new definition of democracy and a new way of functioning of governors of states in this country. Governors are supposed to uphold the Constitution and the laws, but governors in this country are acting at the behest of the Union government," he said.

Rajasthan Governor's response:

Bombarded by the Congress for being partial towards the BJP and helping former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, who rebelled against the Ashok Gehlot government by stalling an assembly session, Governor Kalraj Mishra said that he will go by the constitution only.

He said Gehlot had not given any "justification" or "agenda" for calling the session on such short notice.

Mishra said he needs clarification from the state government on few points before making any announcement.

"The date on which the assembly session is to be convened is not mentioned in the cabinet note and no approval has been given by the cabinet for the same," he said.

Under normal circumstances, a 21-day notice is required for any session of assembly to be called.

Gehlot camp protest:

This comes on a day when Rajasthan MLAs, supporting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, sat on a protest inside the Raj Bhawan premises in the desert state, demanding an Assembly Session urgently, so that Gehlot can prove the majority at the Floor of the House.

The MLAs were accompanied by the Chief Minister to the Raj Bhawan from Fairmount Hotel, where they have been staying, since weeks.

In pictures that emerged on social media, the MLAs can be seen sitting in the lawn of Governor Kalraj Mishra's office and wearing masks and maintaining social distancing as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

Earlier in the day, the Rajasthan High Court asked Assembly Speaker CP Joshi to maintain status quo, an order which will not need 19 rebel Congress MLAs including Sachin Pilot to reply to the disqualification notices served to them, media reports said.

The Speaker cannot take any action against the Sachin Pilot camp for now.

The decision came after the rebel MLAs on Friday urged the court to allow them to make the central government party to the case.

Taking a dig at the same, Sibal said: "I didn't want to say this but it seems like the hight courts nowadays corner the Supreme Courts decision too."

Rajasthan crisis:

The Congress government in Rajasthan plunged into a political crisis more than a week ago following a rebellion by then deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and his loyalists.

The rebellion has pushed the Congress-led Rajasthan government to the brink of collapse as Pilot claimed he had the support of 30 MLAs who would resign along with him.

After Pilot skipped two consecutive meetings of MLAs chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the 42-year old leader was sacked as the Deputy CM and the party's state president.

Gehlot has claimed the support of 109 lawmakers including 107 from his own party and two from a regional outfit.