Preparations for the sixth session of Rajasthan's 16th Assembly are already underway, and it is widely expected to be convened in the last week of August. With the session on the horizon, both the treasury benches and the opposition have swung into action, with the Congress in particular gearing up to enter the session fully prepared.
Why the six month gap rule is forcing the government's hand
Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani has indicated that, as per the rules, the gap between two sessions cannot exceed 180 days, or six months. That makes it mandatory for the government to convene the session before September 10. This is precisely why Rajasthan's politics is expected to heat up next month, with every major issue likely to come up for debate once the Assembly convenes.
Congress says it will enter the session fully prepared
Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully said the Congress is going into this session with complete preparation. According to him, the party has been reviewing every major issue and development from the past six months so that questions concerning the public can be raised forcefully in the Assembly. Jully pointed out that the monsoon session usually allows less time for discussion, but he expects the Speaker, who he says has a positive approach, to want the session to run longer so that the state's important issues can be discussed in detail. He was blunt in saying that the opposition will demand answers from the government on every issue, be it the deaths of women during childbirth or questions related to law and order.
Government accused of wanting a short session
Jully alleged that the government itself does not want the session to run long. Even so, he said, the opposition will keep trying to ensure that every important issue is raised seriously in the House, even if the session lasts only five days. He then turned his fire on the BJP government over the state's law and order situation, calling rising crime and a deteriorating law and order machinery the biggest proof of the government's failure. He said the morale of criminals keeps rising while ordinary people's trust in the government system keeps falling. According to Jully, it is meaningless to single out any one department, because the situation is worrying across every sector.
Killings inside jail, unchecked crime outside
Sharpening his attack on law and order, Jully said murders are taking place inside jails, with other inmates themselves expressing fear for their own safety. Outside the jail walls, incidents like murder continue unabated even in the capital, Jaipur. He said hardly a day goes by without an incident of firing, murder, cyber fraud, or rape of women and girls being reported. Despite all this, he said, the government does not appear to be taking any effective action against crime.
Questions raised over the Chief Minister's review meeting
The Leader of Opposition also targeted Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma's recent law and order review meeting. He said the Chief Minister held the review six months later, and that too based on media reports, even as crimes kept occurring throughout that period. Jully questioned that if SPs and IGs are now being held responsible, then who was responsible before that. He said the state's law and order situation needs constant and close monitoring, and since the Home Department is also with the Chief Minister, accountability must be fixed. He went as far as alleging that the state's system appears to be falling into the hands of mafias, and that policemen themselves are being attacked in several cases.
UCC and other bills likely to be tabled this session
According to sources, the upcoming Assembly session could see several important bills, including the Uniform Civil Code or UCC, being tabled in the House. Rajasthan's last budget session had ended on March 10. The final call on convening the session rests with the state government, after which Governor Haribhau Bagde will issue the formal notification. It is believed the session could run for about 5 to 7 days, during which the government may also place the draft UCC bill before the House. Speaker Vasudev Devnani said on the occasion that Rajasthan's Assembly is among the few in the country with a tradition of resolving deadlock between the treasury benches and the opposition through dialogue rather than letting it drag on. He expressed hope that the upcoming session too would run smoothly.
UCC issue already a flashpoint ahead of the session
This session is being seen as particularly significant because the committee set up on the Uniform Civil Code issue is currently holding public hearings across various districts, a process the Congress has already been opposing. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Pradesh Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, and Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully have all previously raised questions over this hearing process. That makes it almost certain that the UCC issue will become the biggest focal point of opposition attacks during the upcoming session.
