Kapil Sibal, 2 other former UPA law ministers ask Rajasthan governor to follow rules

Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Ashwani Kumar wrote to Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra asking him to adhere to the rules and call a session of the state assembly

Three former law ministers in the UPA government—Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Ashwani Kumar—on Monday wrote to Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra asking him to adhere to the rules and call a session of the state assembly as advised by the state government.

“Having served as Union ministers of Law and Justice in different periods of time and as students of Constitutional law, we are of the clear view that established legal position obliges the Governor to call the assembly session in accordance with the advice of the state cabinet,” the three senior Congress leaders said in a letter to the Governor.

Read: Have written to President, spoken with PM on Rajasthan political situation: CM Gehlot to Congress MLAs

“Any deviation from the established constitutional position in the present circumstances would be an avoidable negation of your oath of office and will create a constitutional crisis,” they said.

The three former ministers said the Governor, in accordance with the established traditions of parliamentary and constitutional democracy, has to defer to the wisdom of the elected government that expressed the will of the people.

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“Indeed, the office of the Governor, envisaged under our Constitutional scheme is above and beyond the constraints and compulsions of partisan politics so that its holder can act freely and fairly to uphold the Constitution,” they said.

Mishra had sought clarifications on two proposals sent by the Gehlot government to the Governor recommending him to convene a session of the Rajasthan assembly.

Gehlot has written to President Ram Nath Kovind and spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the Governor’s “conduct”.