Rajasthan Legislative Assembly

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly is a crucial topic under Rajasthan Polity that deals with the structure, composition, and functioning of the state legislature. It explains the role of the Assembly in law-making, governance, and representing the people of Rajasthan. Understanding this topic helps in analyzing legislative procedures, powers, and the overall political framework of the state.

Legislative Council

The composition of the Legislative Council is heterogeneous; it represents diverse interests and comprises members elected through various methods, as well as some nominated members. Its very structure renders it weak and diminishes its utility as an effective revisory body. On the other hand, the composition of the Rajya Sabha is homogeneous. It represents the states and consists primarily of elected members (out of 250 members, only 12 are nominated).

Article 169. Creation or abolition of Legislative Councils in States

• Parliament can dissolve a Legislative Council (if it already exists) and constitute it (if it does not already exist) if the Legislative Assembly of the concerned State passes a resolution to this effect.
• Any such special resolution must be passed by the State Legislative Assembly with a special majority.
• The State Legislative Assembly may, by a majority of its total membership and by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, pass a resolution for the creation or abolition of the Legislative Council.
• Subsequently, Parliament may create or abolish a Legislative Council in a state by passing a resolution by a simple majority.
• This Act of Parliament shall not be deemed to be an amendment of the Constitution for Article 368 and shall be passed as ordinary legislation (i.e. by a simple majority).

Legislative Council (Article 171)

• Articles 169, 171(1) and 171(2) of the Constitution contain provisions relating to the formation and composition of the Legislative Council.
• Article 169 of the Constitution provides for the abolition or creation of a Legislative Council in a State, while Article 171 deals with the composition of Legislative Councils.
• Like the Rajya Sabha, the Legislative Council is also a permanent house which is never dissolved.
• The number of members of the Legislative Council shall not exceed one-third of the number of members of the Legislative Assembly but shall be at least 40. The exception is Jammu and Kashmir (36).
• At present, there are Legislative Councils in 6 states of the country – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
• The Legislative Council is a permanent house, hence every second year 1/3 members of the Legislative Council retire.
• The elected and nominated members constitute 5/6 and 1/6 of the total number of members of the Legislative Council respectively.
• Election of Members of the Legislative Council is based on proportional representation. Members are elected through the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. The members nominated by the Governor cannot be challenged in court under any circumstances.
• Its members are elected on the basis of indirect election system.
• The members of the Legislative Council are elected by different electoral colleges (direct, indirect, nomination) –
  • 1/3 members – Elected by the members of the State Legislative Assembly from amongst persons who are not members of the Legislative Assembly.
  • 1/3 members – Elected by electoral colleges consisting of members of municipalities, district councils and such other local authorities in the State as Parliament may by law specify.
  • 1/12 Members – Elected by an electoral college consisting of teachers of at least 3 years’ standing in the secondary and higher level educational institutions of the state.
  • 1/12th Members – Elected by the residents of that State who are graduates of the University for at least three years or possess equivalent qualifications.
  • 1/6th Members – Nominated by the Governor. They possess specialised knowledge and practical experience in literature, knowledge, art, the cooperative movement, and social service.

Rights and powers of the Legislative Council:

• The Legislative Council can delay a bill passed by the Legislative Assembly for a maximum of four months: three months for the first time and one month for the second time.
• If the bill is passed again by the Legislative Assembly and comes to the Legislative Council for the second time, the Council does not pass it, returns it with amendments or keeps it pending for a month (in any case), the bill is considered to be passed by both the Houses and is sent for the Governor’s approval.
• The Legislative Council has the right and power to delay the Money Bill for only 14 days. If the Legislative Council keeps the Money Bill with itself for more than 14 days, then it is automatically considered passed.

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly (Article 170)

• Representatives to the Legislative Assembly are elected by direct vote using adult suffrage. The maximum number is 500 and the minimum is 60. However, this number is fixed at 30 in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Goa, and at 40 and 46 in Mizoram and Nagaland, respectively. In addition, some members of the Sikkim and Nagaland Legislative Assemblies are also elected indirectly.
• The Governor may nominate a person belonging to the Anglo-Indian community to the Legislative Assembly. (Article 333)
• Reservation in the State Legislative Assembly is provided to the Scheduled Castes/Tribes in proportion to their population. (Article 332)
• The quorum of the State Legislature is 1/10th of the total number of members of the House.
• There must be at least two sessions in a year and there should not be a gap of more than 6 months between two sessions.
• Under Article 352, in case of emergency, the term of the Legislative Assembly can be extended by Parliament by one year at a time.

Important Constitutional Provisions Relating to State Legislature

Article 172 Duration of the Legislatures of States

• Assembly: The Legislative Assembly of every State shall continue for a term of 5 years from the date appointed for its first meeting.
• Exceptions (emergency): While a proclamation of emergency is in force, Parliament may, by law, extend its duration. This extension shall not exceed one year at a time. In the event of the emergency’s termination, the extension shall continue for a period not exceeding six months.
• Legislative Council: It is a permanent house, not subject to dissolution. Nearest one-third (1/3) of its members retire at the end of every two years.

Article 173: Qualifications for membership of the Legislature

• A person shall be eligible to become a member of the Legislature if:
• He should be a citizen of India.
  • Age Limit: Must have completed a minimum 25 years of age for the Legislative Assembly and a minimum 30 years of age for the Legislative Council.
  • He must possess such other qualifications as may be prescribed by any law made by Parliament.

Article 174: Sessions of Legislature, prorogation and dissolution (Powers of Governor)

• Convening a session: The Governor shall summon the House to session from time to time. The interval between two sessions (the last sitting and the next one) shall not exceed six months.
• Prorogation: The Governor can prorogue the session of the House.
• Dissolution:The Governor has the power to dissolve the Legislative Assembly.

Article 175: Power of Governor to address and send messages to the House/Houses

• The Governor may address either House of the Legislature or both Houses assembled together and may send messages regarding pending bills or other matters.

Article 176: Special address by the Governor

• The Governor makes a mandatory address on two special occasions:
  • At the beginning of the first session after every general election.
  • At the beginning of the first semester of each year.

Article 177: Powers of Ministers and Advocate General

• Right to speak and participate: Any Minister of the State and the Advocate General can speak at meetings of the Legislative Assembly (and if the State has a Legislative Council, both Houses) and take part in its proceedings.
• Powers in the Committee: If he is made a member of any committee of the Legislature, he can also speak and participate in the meetings of that committee.
• No right to vote: This article does not grant them the right to vote. A minister can vote only in the House of which he is a member, and the Advocate General cannot vote in any House.

Article 189 (3): Quorum of the Legislature

• The minimum number of members required to conduct the proceedings of the House (quorum) is one-tenth (1/10) of the total number of members of the House or 10 members, whichever is more.

Article 178: Speaker/Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly-

• Election of Speaker: By voice vote of the MLAs under the chairmanship of the Speaker Pro Tem (usually the senior-most member) (Date of election to be fixed by the Governor)
• The Vice-President is elected by the members from amongst themselves (the date of election is fixed by the Speaker).

Article 179: Vacancy, resignation and removal from the office of Speaker and Deputy Speaker- A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly—

• (a) If he ceases to be a member of the Legislative Assembly, he shall vacate his office;
• (b) At any time, he may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed, if such member is the Speaker, to the Deputy Speaker, and if such member is the Deputy Speaker, to the Speaker; and
• (c) He may be removed from his office by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Legislative Assembly (special majority):
  • No resolution shall be proposed unless at least fourteen days’ notice of the intention to propose such resolution has been given:
  • Provided further that, whenever the Legislative Assembly is dissolved, the Speaker shall not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly following the dissolution.

Article 180 – Power of the Deputy Speaker or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or to act as, Speaker

1. When the office of Speaker is vacant, the Deputy Speaker, or if the office of Deputy Speaker is also vacant, such member of the Legislative Assembly as the Governor may appoint for the purpose, shall perform the duties of that office.
   • [Note :For this purpose, the Pro-tem Speaker is appointed by the Governor.]
2. In the absence of the Speaker from any sitting of the Legislative Assembly, the Deputy Speaker, or if he is also absent, such person as may be determined by the rules of procedure of the Legislative Assembly, or if no such person is present, such other person as may be determined by the Legislative Assembly, shall act as Speaker.

Article 181: Speaker or Deputy Speaker not to preside

• If a motion for the removal of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker is under consideration, they may be present in the House and may speak and vote initially, but they shall not preside (in the Speaker’s Chair) and shall not be able to cast a casting vote in case of a tie.

Article 182: Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council

• The Legislative Council shall elect a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman from amongst its members and shall continue to elect a new member whenever a vacancy occurs.

Article 183: Vacancy, resignation or removal of the office of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman

• The office of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall become vacant when they cease to be members of the House, or when they resign to each other, or when they are removed by a resolution passed by a majority of the House (for which notice of 14 days’ notice is mandatory).
• If the resolution is passed by a majority of all the then members, the post is considered vacant (such resolutions have been brought six times so far in the history of Rajasthan; the first resolution was against Narottam Lal Joshi).

Article 184: Power to perform the duties of the Chairman

• In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman shall preside, and in the event of both positions being vacant, a member appointed by the Governor shall preside. In the absence of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman or a person determined by the rules shall preside.

Article 185: Speaker or Deputy Speaker not to preside

• If a motion for the removal of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker is under consideration, he or she may be present in the House and speak and vote in the first instance, but he or she shall not preside and shall not be able to cast a casting vote in the event of a tie.

Article 186: Salaries and allowances of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairman and Deputy Chairman

• The Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairman and Deputy Chairman shall receive such salaries and allowances as the State Legislature may, by law, determine (until such time as the payment shall be made in accordance with the Second Schedule).

Article 187: Secretariat of the State Legislature

• The Legislature will have its own secretariat and staff. Their recruitment and service conditions will be determined by the Legislature, and until such time as legislation is enacted, the Governor may make regulations in consultation with the Speaker/Chairman.

Article 188: Oath or affirmation by members

• Every member shall, before taking his seat, make and subscribe before the Governor or some person appointed by him an oath or affirmation set forth in the Third Schedule.

Article 189: Voting and quorum in the Houses

• All decisions of the House shall be made by majority vote. The Speaker/Chairman shall not vote initially, but shall cast a casting vote in the event of a tie. The quorum of the House shall be one-tenth of the total membership or 10 members (whichever is greater), in the absence of which the Speaker shall adjourn the meeting.

Article 190: Vacancy of seats

• No person shall be a member of two or more States simultaneously; failure to elect one State within the stipulated time shall result in the loss of his membership in all States.
• The seat of a member shall become vacant if he becomes disqualified or resigns (the Speaker shall accept the resignation only if it is voluntary and genuine).
• The House can declare the seat vacant if a person remains absent for 60 days without permission.

Article 191 (Disqualification):

• A member shall be disqualified if:
  • (a) He holds an office of profit (excluding the office of a Minister);
  • (b) He is an undischarged insolvent;
  • (c) He is of unsound mind;
  • (d) He ceases to be a citizen of India;
  • (e) He is disqualified under any law made by Parliament or under the Tenth Schedule (Anti-Defection Law).

Article 192 (Decision on disqualification): 

• The Governor’s decision on any question of disqualification (Section 191-1) shall be final. Before taking such a decision, the Governor shall seek the opinion of the Election Commission and act accordingly.

Article 193 (Punishment/Fine): 

• If a person sits or votes in the House without taking the oath, being disqualified or barred from membership, he will have to pay a fine of Rs 500 per day.

Article 194 (Privileges): 

• Members of the Legislature shall have freedom of speech (freedom of speech). No court shall bring proceedings against them for anything said or any vote cast in the House. Other powers and privileges shall be determined by law.

Article 195 (Salaries and allowances): 

• Members will receive such salaries and allowances as may be determined by the Legislature through law.

Article 196 (Passing of Bills): 

1. Any bill except a money/finance bill can be introduced in either House.
2. The bill will be considered passed only if both Houses agree.
3. The Bill does not lapse with the adjournment of the session.
4. A bill pending in the Legislative Council, which has not been passed by the Legislative Assembly, will not lapse even if the Assembly is dissolved.
5. But the bill, which is pending in the Assembly or has passed from the Assembly and gone to the Council, will lapse as soon as the Assembly is dissolved.

Effect of dissolution of the Legislative Assembly on pending bills-

1. If a bill is presented in the Legislative Assembly and is passed there and is under process in the Legislative Council, then it will lapse.
2. If a bill is presented in the Assembly and is under process in the Assembly itself, then it will lapse.
3. If a bill is presented in the Legislative Council and is passed there and is under process in the Legislative Assembly, then it will lapse.
4. If a bill is introduced in the Legislative Council and is under process there, it will not lapse.

That is, on the dissolution of the Assembly, all such pending bills which have touched the Assembly get terminated.

Article 197 (Restrictions on the powers of the Council on ordinary bills):

• If the Legislative Council rejects a bill passed by the Legislative Assembly, or withholds it for three months, or makes amendments that the Assembly disagrees with, the Assembly can pass it again. If the Council again rejects it upon resubmission, or withholds it for one month, or makes amendments that the Assembly disagrees with, the bill will be deemed passed by both houses. (This rule does not apply to money bills.

Article 198 (Special procedure for Money Bills): 

• A money bill can only be introduced in the Legislative Assembly. After passing the Assembly, it will be sent to the Council for recommendations. The Council must return it within 14 days. The Legislative Assembly may or may not accept the Council’s recommendations. If it is not returned within 14 days, the bill will be considered passed as passed by the Legislative Assembly.

Article 199 (Definition of Money Bill):

• A money bill is one that deals solely with matters such as the imposition of taxes, the borrowing of money, the withdrawal of funds from the Consolidated/Contingency Fund, or the declaration of an expenditure as a charge on the Consolidated Fund. Bills for fines or local taxes are not considered money bills.
• The decision of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on whether a bill is a money bill or not will be final.

Note :

• Bill relating to the Consolidated Fund or Contingency Fund of the State.
• The second reading of the bill takes place on a date determined by the Business Advisory Committee. It generally highlights the merits and demerits of the bill.
• There is no need to give any prior notice for a government bill, but one month’s notice is required for non-government bills introduced by a private member.

Article 200 (Assent to Bills): 

• A bill passed by both Houses goes to the Governor. The Governor may either assent, withhold, or reserve it for the President’s consideration. The Governor may return a bill (except a money bill) for reconsideration, but will not withhold assent if it is passed again. If the bill would curtail the powers of the High Court, the Governor must reserve it for the President.

Article 201 (Consideration by the President): 

• The President will either assent to or withhold a bill from the reserve list. He can also direct the Governor to return the bill to the House for reconsideration. The House must reconsider it within six months and, if passed, will send it back to the President.

Budget / Annual Financial Statement (Article 202)

General details of the budget:

• Details of the government’s income and expenditure for the coming financial year are presented.
• Financial Year: 1st April to 31st March.
• The Governor presents the budget in the Assembly every year, and there is no discussion on this day.
• No demand for a grant is made without the recommendation of the Governor.

Process of discussion on the budget:

1. General Discussion: General debate after the presentation of the budget.
2. Voting on Demands for Grants: Voting takes place on departmental demands.

Stages of Budget Passage:

1. Budget Presentation: The Finance Minister presents the budget and delivers the budget speech on a day fixed by the Governor.
2. Common debate: After the presentation of the budget, there is a general discussion on the budget in the Assembly for three-four days.
3. Vote on Account (Article 206):1/6th of the amount advanced for government expenditure till the end of the financial year (31 March).
4. Inquiry by Departmental Committees: After the Vote on Account is passed, departmental committees examine the demands for grants.
5. Voting on Demands for Grants: Voting is done on the basis of departmental reports. Cut motions can be moved by the opposition.

Types of Cut Motion:

1. Policy Approval Deduction: The amount demanded is reduced to ₹1, which is against the policy.
2. Thrift Cuts: There is a special reduction in the amount of demand.
3. Token Deduction: Reduction of ₹100 in the amount demanded, to express a specific grievance.

• Appropriation Bill (Article 204): An Appropriation Bill, also known as a Money Bill, is passed to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Passing of the Finance Bill: The annual Finance Bill is presented to implement the budget proposals for the next financial year.

Types of Grants:

• Supplementary Grants (Art. 205): When the requirement exceeds the amount sanctioned in the budget, the government seeks supplementary grants.
• Additional/Excess Grants (Art. 205): Additional grants are sought when the funds required for a specific service exceed the amount originally sanctioned.
• Vote of Credit (Art. 206): A Vote of Credit is passed to meet unforeseen and uncertain requirements that cannot be included in the budget. It is referred to as a “Blank Check.”
• Exceptional Grants (Art. 206): Expenditure related to the government’s future plans, which does not pertain to any item within the current financial year.

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly

• Rajasthan has a unicameral legislature.
  1. Assembly  
• Pre-Independence: A bicameral legislature (Dhara Sabha and Pratinidhi Sabha) was formed in September 1945 by Jaipur Maharaja Mansingh II.
• First formation: After the Constitution of India came into effect, the first general elections were held in January 1952. On February 23, 1952, the first Legislative Assembly with 160 members was formed.
• First meeting: It was held on March 29, 1952, at Sawai Mansingh Town Hall, Jaipur.
• Assembly Building: The new building, located in Jyoti Nagar, Jaipur, was inaugurated on November 6, 2001, by the then President K.R. Narayanan.
• In the first Rajasthan Legislative Assembly elections in 1952, six candidates were elected unopposed, all belonging to the Indian National Congress Party.
  1. Shri Ghasiram Yadav (Mandawar, one member)
  2. Shri Sampat Ram (Lakshmangarh-Rajgarh two-member)
  3. Shri Jaichand (Badi Sadri Kapasan – two-member)
  4. Laxman Bhil (from Sarada Salumber two-member constituency)
  5. Shri Hazari Lal (Kotputli)
  6. Shri Hariram (Bagidora)
• In the first Rajasthan Legislative Assembly general election in 1952, only four women stood as candidates, and all four lost, meaning no female candidate became an MLA. These four constituencies and the women were as follows:
  1. Chiranji Devi Phagi KLP Party
  2. Virendra Bai Jaipur City Independent
  3. Shanta Devi Udaipur City Independent
  4. Rani Devi Sojat Main Jan Sangh
• The first legislative elections of Rajasthan were held through by-elections during the period 1952-1957, in which Yashoda Devi reached the assembly as the first woman MLA in Rajasthan by winning from the general seat of Banswara assembly constituency in 1953.
• She reached the Assembly by winning from the Praja Socialist Party.
• She had the honour of becoming the first woman of the first assembly of the state.
• The second woman to win a by-election in the first assembly was Mrs Kamla Beniwal, who became an MLA in 1954.
• For the first time, on April 18, 2012, the Ashok Gehlot government had passed a proposal for the formation of the Upper House (Legislative Council) from the Legislative Assembly and sent it to the Central Government, which was also approved by the Cabinet, but till now, the Legislative Council has not been formed in Rajasthan. 
• The first general elections of the Legislative Assembly in Rajasthan started in 1952, and till now (till 2023) 16 general elections of the Legislative Assembly have been completed.
• Till now, Congress has formed the government 10 times and BJP has formed the government 5 times in the state.
• Detail of seats: In the 1977 delimitation, the number of members was increased to 200. This number has remained at 200 since the Sixth Assembly (1977).
• Reservation Status: Out of total 200 seats, 34 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 25 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST).
• Maximum seats: Jaipur district (19 seats) and Alwar district (11 seats).
• Minimum seats: Pratapgarh (2 seats) and Jaisalmer (2 seats).
• Voters: Jhotwara (Jaipur) area has the highest number of registered voters, while Baseri (Dholpur) has the lowest.
• EVM: Electronic Voting Machines were used for the first time in the entire state in the 12th Assembly of the year 2003.
• In 1980, Bharatiya Janata Party entered the politics of Rajasthan.
• Before 1977, there was a single-party dominance. In 1977, Rajasthan formed its first non-Congress government, the Janata Party, led by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
• Shri Haridev Joshi: Congress leader Haridev Joshi was the only MLA in the country who won the first 10 assembly elections consecutively.

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly: Year-wise status and political journey (1952 – 2023)

Year	Assembly	Total Seats	Largest party (seats)
1952	First	160	Congress (82)
1957	Second	176	Congress (119)
1962	Third	176	Congress (89)
1967	Fourth	184	Congress (103)
1972	Fifth	184	Congress (145)
1977	Sixth	200	Janata Party (150)
1980	Seventh	200	Congress (133)
1985	Eighth	200	Congress (113)
1990	Ninth	200	BJP (84)
1993	Tenth	200	BJP (95)
1998	Eleventh	200	Congress (152)
2003	twelfth	200	BJP (123)
2008	thirteenth	200	Congress (102)
2013	Fourteenth	200	BJP (163)
2018	Fifteenth	200	Congress (99)
2023	sixteenth	200	BJP (115)

• The number of seats was 160 in 1952, which increased to 200 in 1977 (Sixth Assembly) and has remained stable since then.
• So far, Congress has played the lead role in the state 10 times, and the BJP (including Jan Sangh/Janata Party) has played the lead role 6 times (1977, 1990, 1993, 2003, 2013, 2023).
• BJP’s 163 seats in 2013 is the biggest victory by any party in the electoral history of Rajasthan.

Working of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly

Motion of No Confidence in the Council of Ministers (Rule 132)

• This motion is brought by the opposition party to express no confidence in the government.
• Process of submission:
  • Time: Permission to move a no-confidence motion is sought immediately after the questions and before the business of the day begins.
  • Information: The member bringing the motion must give written notice to the Secretary before the meeting begins.
  • Role of the Speaker: If the Speaker is of the opinion that the motion is in order, he will read it out in the House and ask the members supporting it to stand in their places.
  • Minimum support: If one-fifth (1/5) of the total number of members of the House i.e. at least 40 members of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly stand in favour, then the Speaker grants permission.
  • Discussion time: After the leave is granted, the motion will be discussed on a day which is within 10 days from the date of leave.
  • Important facts: If the required number of members (40) does not stand, leave is denied. The Assembly itself grants leave for a no-confidence motion.
• Historical context (motion of no confidence):
  • First time: It was brought against Chief Minister Tikaram Paliwal in October 1952.
  • Total Opportunities: Till now, no-confidence motion has been brought a total of 13 times.
  • Results: Till date not a single no-confidence motion has been passed.
  • Last time: It was brought against Chief Minister Haridev Joshi in the year 1985.
• Chief Ministers of Rajasthan against whom a no-confidence motion was moved (but never passed):
  • Tikaram Paliwal – First Assembly
  • Mohanlal Sukhadia – No-confidence motion was brought 5 times in the second assembly and third assembly.
  • Barkatullah Khan – Fourth Assembly
  • Haridev Joshi – in the fifth assembly and also in the eighth assembly
  • Bhairon Singh Shekhawat – 2 times in the 6th Assembly
  • Jagannath Pahadia – Seventh Assembly

Rajasthan Assembly: Details of no-confidence motions

S.No.	Assembly	Chief Minister (Party)	Proposing Member (including party)	Date	Results
1.	First	Tikaram Paliwal(Congress)	Indranath Modi (Independent)	October 10, 17, 21, 1952	Rejected by voice vote
2.	Second	Mohan Lal Sukhadia(Congress)	Raja Man Singh (Independent), Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (Jan Sangh)	19, 20 February 1958	Rejected by voice vote
3.	Third	Mohan Lal Sukhadia(Congress)	Ramkishan (Socialist), Murlidhar Vyas (People’s Socialist)	05 April 1962	Lack of quorum (not permitted)
4.	Third	Mohan Lal Sukhadia(Congress)	Laxman Singh, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Muralidhar Vyas, Umrao Chaudhary, Mukut Bihari Goyal	26–28 August 1963	Rejected by voice vote
5.	Third	Mohan Lal Sukhadia(Congress)	Laxman Singh, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Muralidhar Vyas, Hari Ram Chauhan	20, 28-30 October 1964	Rejected by voice vote
6.	Third	Mohan Lal Sukhadia(Congress)	Satish Chandra Agarwal (Jan Sangh)	April 16, 1965	Lack of quorum (not permitted)
7.	Third	Mohan Lal Sukhadia(Congress)	Laxman Singh (Independent)	26-29 September 1966	Rejected by voice vote
8.	Fourth	Barkatullah Khan(Congress)	Manohar Singh (Independent)	15, 16 November 1971	Rejected by voice vote
9.	Fifth	Haridev Joshi(Congress)	Prof. Kedar (Socialist), Mitha Lal (Independent), Bhanu Kumar Shastri, Manohar Singh	August 28, 1974	Lack of quorum (not permitted)
10.	Sixth	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat(Janata Party)	Laxman Singh, Parasram Maderna, Mathuradas Mathur, Shopat Singh, Navneet Paliwal, Noora	–	Rejected by voice vote
11.	Sixth	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat(Janata Party)	Gulmohan, Navneet Paliwal (Janata Party)	25, 26, 28 September	The proposal was withdrawn.
12.	Seventh	Jagannath Paharia(Congress)	Yadunath Singh, Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi (BJP), Raj Bahadur, Meghraj Tanwar, Trilok Singh	03 April 1981	Rejected by voice vote
13.	Eighth	Haridev Joshi(Congress)	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (BJP), Nathu Ram Mirdha (Lok Dal), Prof. Kedar, Shopat Singh	July 29, 1985	Rejected by voice vote

Motion of Confidence in the Council of Ministers (Rule 132-A)

• This motion is brought by the government itself (ruling party) to prove its majority.
• Main provisions:
  • Precedence:If notices are received under both Rule 132 (No Confidence) and Rule 132-A (Confidence), the Confidence Motion shall take precedence over the No Confidence Motion.
  • Process: This is also put to vote after discussion in the House.
• Historical context (motion of no confidence):
  • Total Confidence Motion: 05 times (all were successful).
  • Leadership wise division:
    • Bhairon Singh Shekhawat: 3 times (twice in 1990, once in 1993).
    • Ashok Gehlot: 2 times (in 2009 and 2020).
  • Highest majority: 124 votes were cast in favor of Ashok Gehlot government in the 15th Assembly.
  • First mover: Chief Minister himself (1990).
  • Last mover: Shanti Dhariwal (as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs)

Rajasthan Assembly: Details of confidence motions

S.No.	Assembly	Chief Minister (Party)	Member number	Proposing Member	Date	Results and majority
1.	9th	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat(BJP)	85/200	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat	23.03.1990	Approval (Passed by voice vote)
2.	9th	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat(BJP)	85/200	Om Prakash Gupta	08.11.1990	Approval (In favor: 116, Against: 80)
3.	10th	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat(BJP)	95/200	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat	31.12.1993	Approval (In favor: 108, Against: 00)
4.	13th	Ashok Gehlot(Congress)	96/200	Ashok Gehlot	03.01.2009	Approval (Passed by voice vote)
5.	15th	Ashok Gehlot(Congress)	107/200	Shanti Dhariwal	14.08.2020	Approval (In favor: 124, by voice vote)

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (Emoluments and Pension of Officers and Members) Bill, 2019

• Effective Date: All these pay scales are effective from April 1, 2019.
• Additional Facilities: Apart from salary and allowances, the persons holding these posts are entitled to other facilities like government accommodation, vehicle, medical facility and telephone expenses as per rules.
• MLA Pension: Pension provision for former MLAs is also decided under this Act.

Salary and hospitality allowance of ministers of Rajasthan Government

S. No.	Post	Salary Allowance (₹)	Hospitality Allowance (₹)	Total (per month)
1	Chief Minister	75,000	85,000	1,60,000
2	Deputy Chief Minister	65,000	80,000	1,45,000
3	Minister (Cabinet)	65,000	80,000	1,45,000
4	Minister of State	62,000	80,000	1,42,000
5	Deputy Minister	60,000	60,000	1,20,000

Emoluments of Assembly Officers and MLAs

S. No.	Designation	Salary Allowance (₹)	Hospitality/Election Allowance (₹)	Total (per month)
1	Speaker of the assembly	70,000	80,000 (Hospitality)	1,50,000
2	Deputy Speaker of the Assembly	65,000	80,000 (Hospitality)	1,45,000
3	Leader of the Opposition	65,000	80,000 (Hospitality)	1,45,000
4	Chief Whip	65,000	80,000 (Hospitality)	1,45,000
5	Deputy Chief Whip	62,000	70,000 (Hospitality)	1,32,000
6	MLA	40,000	70,000 (constituency allowance)	1,10,000

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly: Election, Oath and Procedure

• Oath and Office: There is no separate oath as Speaker and Deputy Speaker (they take oath only as ‘Members of the Legislative Assembly’).
• Election of the Speaker: The date of the election is fixed by the Governor (the name of the candidate is given in writing to the Secretary, which is proposed by one member and seconded by another; no member can propose his own name).
• Election of the Vice-President: The date of the election is fixed by the Speaker (the procedure is the same as for the election of the Speaker; if approved by a majority, the presiding person declares the member elected).
• Chairman’s schedule: The Speaker nominates a panel of Chairmen, not exceeding four, from amongst the members (in the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, any one of whom may preside over the House).
• Sittings and timings of the House: A meeting is valid only when the Speaker or a Member presides (normally the timing is from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm; the date and adjournment of meetings are decided by the Speaker).
• Role of the Secretary: The Secretary prepares the daily business list (the final decision on the admissibility of bills and resolutions is taken by the Speaker).

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Committees

• There are two types of committees in the Legislative Assembly –
  • Ad hoc Committees (formed for special circumstances)
  • Standing Committees (total number 22; tenure 1 year).
• Current Status (16th Assembly): A total of 18 committees have been constituted for the year 2025-26 (including 17 standing committees — including 4 finance committees—and 1 select committee on the ‘Rajasthan Coaching Centre Bill 2025’).
• Financial Committees: There are 4 of them.
  1. Public Accounts – examining audit reports of government expenditure
  2. Public Undertakings – Audit of accounts of Public Undertakings
  3. Estimates ‘A’ – Scrutiny of budget estimates and economy
  4. Estimate ‘B’ – Scrutiny of Budget Estimates and Economy
     • (Their members are elected by ‘single transferable vote’, while the members of the other 18 committees are nominated by the Speaker).
• Chairmanship and Membership: The chairpersons of all committees are nominated by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (they consist of members from both the ruling party and the opposition, but a minister cannot be a member; exception: the Chief Minister can be a member of the Business Advisory Committee).
• Report Presentation: The committees submit their reports to the Legislative Assembly (if the Assembly is not in session, the report is submitted to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly).
• Standing committees can have a maximum of 15 members.
• No minister can be appointed as chairman or member of these committees.
• The tenure of the Chairman and members of the Committee is 1 year.
• The members are selected on the basis of proportional representation.
• 1/3 members are required for quorum.
• The Chairman and members are appointed by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Chairman of Committees (2026)

Order	Name of the Committee	Chairman
1.	Works Advisory Committee	Vasudev Devnani (Ex officio Chairman)
2.	General Purposes Committee	Vasudev Devnani (Ex officio Chairman)
3.	Rules Committee	Committee on the Welfare of Backwards Classes
4.	Estimates Committee ‘A’	Arjunlal Jinagar
5.	Estimates Committee ‘B’	Babu Singh Rathore
6.	Public Undertakings Committee	Kalicharan Saraf
7.	Public Accounts Committee	Tikaram Julie
8.	Committee on Home, Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions	Jitendra Kumar Gothwal
9.	Committee on Libraries and Government Assurances	Hari Singh Rawat
10.	Petitions and Ethics Committee	Kailash Chand Verma
11.	Committee on the Welfare of Backward Classes	Narendra Budania
12.	Committee on Welfare of Minorities and Environment	Dr. Dayaram Parmar
13.	Scheduled Caste Welfare Committee	Dr. Vishwanath Meghwal
14.	Scheduled Tribe Welfare Committee	Phool Singh Meena
15.	Committee on Women and Child Welfare	Smt. Kalpana Devi
16.	Committee on Privileges and Subordinate Legislation	Kesaram Choudhary
17.	Question and Reference Committee	Sandeep Sharma

Important rules related to committees (parliamentary conventions):

• Restrictions on Minister’s membership: No minister of the Rajasthan Government can be a member of any standing committee of the Legislative Assembly (such as Public Accounts, Estimates etc.).
• Resignation: If a member of the Committee is appointed as a Minister during his tenure, he shall cease to be a member of the Committee from the date of his appointment.
• Parliamentary Consultative Committee: This committee is always headed by the Minister (Independent Charge) or the Minister of State of that department.
• The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee is usually the Leader of the Opposition.
• The Rules Committee is chaired by the Speaker of the Assembly himself.

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly: List of Speakers and Deputy Speakers

Speaker

• First Speaker: Narottam Lal Joshi (from Jhunjhunu; elected in the first assembly).
• Longest tenure: Ramniwas Mirdha (twice Speaker; in the 2nd and 3rd Legislative Assemblies).
• Minimum Tenure: Samarth Lal Meena (held the post of President for the shortest period).
• First non-Congress Speaker: Laxman Singh (during the 6th Assembly; in the Janata Party government).
• Former Chief Ministers who served as Speaker: Hiralal Devpura (in the 8th Legislative Assembly; he had also been the Chief Minister of Rajasthan).
• First woman Speaker: Sumitra Singh (in the 12th Legislative Assembly; elected from Jhunjhunu).
• Ram Niwas Mirdha: He served as the Speaker for the longest time and later also as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• Hari Shankar Bhabhra: Apart from being the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, he was also the Deputy Chief Minister of the state.
• Such a Speaker of the Legislative Assembly who was also the Pro-tem Speaker and Leader of the Opposition – Laxman Singh
• Speakers of the Legislative Assembly against whom a motion for removal was moved but it was never passed-
  1. Narottam Lal Joshi (1st Assembly 2 times)
  2. Niranjan Nath Acharya (4th Assembly)
  3. Giriraj Prasad Tiwari (8th Assembly)
  4. Shantilal Chaplo(10th Assembly, 2 times)

Deputy Speaker of the Assembly

• First Vice Speaker: Lal Singh Shaktawat (appointed during the 1st Assembly).
• First woman Deputy Speaker: Tara Bhandari (in the 10th Assembly; during the BJP government).
• Minimum tenure (Deputy Speaker): Tara Bhandari and Ramnarayan Choudhary (tenure of only 125 days).

Distinguished Personality and Achievements

• Poonam Chand Bishnoi: The only person who held all three important positions of Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Pro-tem Speaker in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.
• Deputy Speaker who later became Speakers: 
  1. Niranjan Nath Acharya
  2. Punamchand Bishnoi
  3. Giriraj Prasad Tiwari
  4. Shanti Lal Chaplot
  5. Samarth Lal Meena

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly: Pro-tem Speaker

• Appointment and oath: The Speaker Pro Tem is appointed by the Governor of Rajasthan (the Governor administers the oath of office to him; usually the senior-most member of the House is chosen for this post).
• Meaning and Tenure: The word ‘Pro Tem’ means ‘for the time being’ (their main function is to administer the oath to the newly elected members and conduct the election of the new Speaker; their term automatically ends as soon as the new Speaker is elected).

List of Pro Tem Speakers of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly

AssemblyOrder	Name of the Pro-tem Speaker
1.	Maharao Sangram Singh (I),Jai Narayan Vyas (II)
2.	Narayan Singh Masuda
3.	Narayan Singh Masuda
4.	Poonam Chand Bishnoi
5.	Yashwant Singh Nahar
6.	Major Fateh Singh
7.	Parasram Maderna
8.	Laxman Singh
9.	Poonam Chand Bishnoi
10.	Poonam Chand Bishnoi
11.	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
12.	Ganga Ram Choudhary
13.	Devi Singh Bhati
14.	Pradyuman Singh
15.	Gulab Chand Kataria
16.	Kalicharan Saraf

• Maximum number of occasions: Poonam Chand Vishnoi has been appointed Pro-tem Speaker maximum number of times i.e. three times (4th, 9th and 10th Assembly).
• Chief Ministers who were Pro Tem Speakers: Two Chief Ministers of Rajasthan have held this position to administer oath to the members of the House.
  • Jai Narayan Vyas
  • Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
• The Pro-tem Speaker, who was also the Leader of the Opposition –
  • Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
  • Gulabchand Kataria

Rajasthan Legislative Assembly: List of Leader of Opposition

• Chief Minister who was also the Leader of the Opposition
  • Bhairon Singh Shekhawat: Maximum 3 times (7th, 8th, 11th Assembly).
  • Haridev Joshi
  • Vasundhara Raje
• Longest Tenure — Laxman Singh — He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the highest number four of Legislative Assemblies.
• Leader of the Opposition who was also the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
  • Laxman Singh
  • Parasram Maderna
• Leader of the Opposition who was also the Pro-tem Speaker
  • Laxman Singh
  • Parasram Maderna
  • Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
  • Gulabchand Kataria