Ruckus prevailed in the Punjab assembly on Wednesday after the treasury benches and opposition Congress MLAs entered into heated arguments over the denial of more time by the speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to speak on discussions on the state budget.
As the Congress members stormed the well of the House urging the speaker to allow Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring to complete his speech, Sandhwan named all the Congress legislators present in the house, except Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar, and suspended them for the rest of the day.
The speaker also adjourned the house for 15 minutes. Warring was carried out of the assembly by marshals after he refused to leave.
The protest broke out after the speaker told Gidderbaha MLA Warring that his allotted time to speak was over and that the Congress used its allotted 28 minutes for a discussion on the budget.
Despite Warring pleading to let him conclude his speech, Sandhwan asked ruling member Dr Baljeet Kaur to start her speech. Warring protested this and stormed the well of the House alleging that the speaker of muzzling the voice of the opposition members.
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, accompanied by other members, also stood on their seats and asked teh speaker to allow Warring to conclude his speech.
{{/usCountry}}Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, accompanied by other members, also stood on their seats and asked teh speaker to allow Warring to conclude his speech.
{{/usCountry}}However, Sandhwan claimed that since Bajwa, who initiated the debate on the budget consumed more than the allotted time, Congress members will have to stick to the allotted time as per the provisions.
But Bajwa claimed that during PAC meetings the speaker had assured the opposition of getting ample time and he should stick to his promise.
Sandhwan did not allow more time for Warring, who kept on targeting the speaker of bias from the well of the House.
Heated exchanges also took place between the treasury benches and Congress members, and proceedings were adjourned amid the din. After naming the Congress members, the speaker ordered the watch and ward staff to take the MLAs out of the House. Those suspended include Partap Singh Bajwa, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Hardev Singh Laddi, Avtar Singh Junior, Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Vikramjit Chaudhary, Barindermeet Singh Pahra, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and Rana Gurmeet Singh.
When proceedings resumed, Gidderbaha MLA Warring who was already inside the assembly along with Vikramjit Chaudhary and Barindermeet Pahra were forcefully removed by ward and watch staff.
The watch and ward staff (marshals) of the assembly physically lifted Warring to remove him from the House.
LoP Bajwa and a few other Congress members who had gone out to meet the speaker in his chambers were not allowed to enter the assembly by the ward and watch staff citing the ruling by the speaker.
Warring while being removed from the house accused the speaker of stopping the opposition from exposing the government on the budget.
After not allowed entry into the House, the LoP told the mediapersons that when they met the speaker in his chambers he had assured them that MLAs would be allowed to enter the House. “However, when we reached the gate, we were not allowed to enter. The speaker is playing into the hands of his masters as the government knows it very well that opposition will tear into the government’s budget, which was a bundle of lies,” Bajwa said.