Haryana cabinet asks governor dissolve Assembly to avoid summoning House

The Haryana cabinet on Wednesday recommended to governor Bandaru Dattatreya to dissolve the Assembly to avoid summoning the House before the expiry of the six-month period from the last sitting.

"The State Cabinet, which met here (Wednesday evening) accorded approval to a proposal regarding the dissolution of the 14th Haryana Vidhan Sabha," an official release said in Chandigarh.

"The proposal will now be sent to Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya for approval. Article 174 (2) (b) of the Constitution of India gives the Governor of a state the power to dissolve the state's legislative assembly," it said.

The term of the current Vidhan Sabha expires on 3 November. Elections have already been announced in Haryana, scheduled to be held on 5 October, with the results slated to be issued on 8 October.

Official sources said summoning of the House before the end of the six-month period from the last session is a Constitutional requirement. The move appears intended to avert any Constitutional crisis.

The Haryana Assembly's last session was held on 13 March when the Saini government had won the trust vote and the next session had to be convened by 12 September.

Saini replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as chief minister in March. Khattar is now a Union minister.

The government usually summons the monsoon session in August, mostly after Independence Day. However, polls were announced on 16 August, after which the government did not summon a session.

After the governor's nod, the Saini government will continue as a caretaker government until a new one is formed, sources said.