Behave in Gandhian way: Ashok Gehlot tells MLAs staging 'dharna' at Raj Bhawan

Jaipur, July 24: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday urged Congress MLAs sitting on a 'dharna' at the Raj Bhawan here to behave in the Gandhian way as confrontation is not desirable.

The Chief Minister said the governor not giving his approval for calling an assembly session is unprecedented and hoped that he will soon let the government know his reasons.

State Congress MLAs of the Gehlot camp, led by the chief minister, arrived at the Raj Bhawan earlier in the day in four buses from a hotel on the city outskirts where they have been camping for the past few days.

They began a 'dharna' saying they will stay put till the governor summons a session of the state assembly. Gehlot has "requested all the MLAs to behave in the Gandhian way and we do not want any confrontation," according to a statement issued by the chief minister after he met Governor Kalraj Mishra.

"It has never happened in the history of the country that the governor has not given the approval to call an assembly session. The governor is bound by the decisions of the cabinet," Gehlot said.

He said it seems that the cabinet's proposal to call an assembly session has not been approved by the governor due to pressure from the higher-ups. Earlier at the Raj Bhawan, while the chief minister met the governor inside, the MLAs squatted on the lawns, at times shouting slogans in support of the Gehlot-led Congress government.

The governor came out to meet them. Later, talking to reporters, Gehlot said the governor's is a constitutional post and the person holding the office has to take bold decisions. "I believe that the governor will soon take a decision and then we will want the session to start to discuss all kinds of issues. This is what we have decided and so we are sitting here," Gehlot said.

He also said he hoped the governor will let the government know the reasons due to which he is not able to take a decision. After this, the government can decide what has to be done. "We have taken the initiative to call an assembly session to show our strength and the Opposition should have also welcomed it. But the opposite is happening here," he said.