By Archana Sharma
Jaipur, March 12 (IANS) At a time when reports of differences between Governors and Chief Ministers are coming from different states, Rajasthan has been scripting a story of cordial relations between Governor Kalraj Mishra and CM Ashok Gehlot.
Political veterans say that the two are seasoned leaders who have decades of experience in politics and hence they know how to manage trouble spots and challenges.
Mishra was seen holding up a few bills and expressing displeasure over significant issues in the last few months. But the Rajasthan CM handled all these issues with finesse, creating a template which, experts say, should be followed by all.
Recently, Mishra came down heavily on adjourning assembly sessions for long periods, and said that this ‘tradition’ would harm legislative procedures. He was delivering the keynote address at the concluding ceremony of the 83rd All India Presiding Officers’ Conference in the state assembly.
The remarks came in the backdrop of the continuing tussle between the Congress government and Raj Bhavan (Governor’s House) over sessions continuing without the House functioning.
The Rajasthan government in fact started the tradition after Mishra repeatedly rejected the government’s requests to convene the assembly for a floor test after former deputy CM Sachin Pilot and 18 Congress MLAs revolted against Gehlot.
The Congress government, acting on its own, continued the assembly session for long periods in 2021 and 2022 against the norm of having at least three sessions, namely budget, monsoon and winter. In 2021, the assembly session ran from February to September, while in 2022, it was from February to September.
However, Gehlot, like a seasoned politician, did not overreact to the issue.
Last year, Kalraj Mishra returned three private universities bills after studying them for five months. These were bills of Dunes University (Jodhpur), Vyas Vidya Peeth University (Jodhpur) and Saurabh University, Hindaun City, Karauli, which were sent back for reconsideration, making 35-40 objections. However, yet again, there was no strong face-off.
The governor even held bills brought to counter the Central farm laws, which were enacted in 2020. Yet again, the issue was not escalated to create trouble and tension.
Political expert Tribhuvan said, “The reason why CM Gehlot and Governor Mishra have had no stand off is because they are seasoned and experienced politicians who have been in politics since decades.”
There is a special characteristic of seasoned politicians: They know how to maintain relations and they also know how to respect their colleagues, he added.
When asked about the stand off between governors and CMs in BJP-ruled states, he said, “the real issue is that the young leaders in the BJP are eager to prove themselves as anti-Congress and anti-Communist which creates problems unlike in states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where the CMs and Governors are experienced politicians.”
In fact, in Rajasthan I have observed that Sangh leaders and communists share cordial relations, they may be having ideological differences, but they have been visiting each other’s houses on festivals and other occasions which I have seen in Sri Ganganagar where I come from, he added.
“In fact, even during the regime of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, cordial relations were maintained with the then Governor. Further, Gehlot recently hosted Gulab Chand Kataria after he was deputed as Assam Governor, he also hosted Om Birla after he was elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker and recently hosted a dinner when Jagdeep Dhankar was named as Vice President. So these are features of seasoned politicians who know how to strengthen relations,” Tribhuvan said.
He added that Mishra was Rajasthan in-charge during 2003-08 so he knows the state very well. He will talk to you as a seasoned politician. Also he reads the Constitution’s preamble before the start of the assembly session. Now this preamble has the word ‘Secularism’ which the RSS opposes. However, holding a constitutional post, he justifies his act, yet again showing political maturity.
–IANS
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