The appointment of six MLAs as advisers to the Chief Minister, shortly after the Cabinet expansion carried out in Rajasthan earlier this week, has caught the attention of the Raj Bhavan. Governor Kalraj Mishra has sought a clarification on the issue from Chief Secretary Niranjan Arya.
Jitendra Singh, Rajkumar Sharma and Danish Abrar (Congress) and Babulal Nagar, Sanyam Lodha and Ramkesh Meena (Independents) were appointed advisers.
The Congress, which has 108 MLAs, enjoys the support of 12 of the 13 Independents who had extended support to the State Government after the rebellion staged by then Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs in July 2020.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition submitted a memorandum to the Governor alleging that the posts were unconstitutional as they were “offices of profit”.
The sources in the Raj Bhavan said on Thursday the Governor had forwarded Mr. Rathore’s memorandum to the Chief Secretary seeking a clarification on the constitutional status.
Mr. Rathore, a Minister in the previous BJP regime, said the Congress Government had appointed the advisers and was in the process of appointing Parliamentary Secretaries in numbers exceeding the constitutional limit to accommodate the MLAs who were deprived of ministerial berths.
