Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot convened a cabinet meeting on Friday night at his residence; the cabinet discussed the six points raised by the Governor regarding calling an assembly session. The cabinet meeting that went on well past mid-night, lasting for nearly two and half hours.

The cabinet passed a proposal to call the assembly session, which will be sent to the Governor this morning. It was decided in the cabinet meeting that the agenda of the assembly session will be Covid-19 and the economic crisis, sources said. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress MLAs loyal to him held a five-hour sit-in at the Governor’s House, Raj Bhavan, to press for an assembly session, in a dramatic show of strength hours after the Sachin Pilot Camp secured protection for now from disqualification from the house.

He submitted a list of 102 MLAs to the Governor, who asked him to send a fresh request for a session. The Congress said it ended the protest following an assurance from the Governor that he will abide by Article 174 of the constitution, after getting the clarifications from the Chief Minister. The Congress accused for seemingly helping former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot’s revolt against the Ashok Gehlot government by stalling an assembly session, Governor Kalraj Mishra on Friday said that he will go by the constitution only.

The governor said he needed the state government’s response on few points before making any announcement, claiming that Gehlot had not given any “justification” or “agenda” for calling the session on such a short notice. Under the normal process, a 21-day notice is required for the session to be called, Mishra said in a statement. “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.

The statement also said the state government should ensure freedom and free movement of all the MLAs. It asked the government to take note of the Covid-19 crisis and suggest how the session should be held given the current situation. The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government, which is facing a political crisis after rebellion by 19 dissident Congress MLAs, including rebel party leader Sachin Pilot, wants to hold the assembly session to prove the majority.