Chandigarh : The Punjab Congress on Tuesday urged governor Banwarilal Purohit to terminate the “illegal” knowledge sharing agreement (KSA) inked between the chief ministers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governments in Punjab and Delhi.
A party delegation led by state president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Congress legislature party leader Partap Singh Bajwa submitted a memorandum to the governor, stating the agreement was a violation of the provisions of the Constitution and rules governing conduct of business of the government of a state.
“The KSA is per se illegal and void ab initio because both the signatories i.e. chief ministers of both the states have no inherent power as per the provisions of the Constitution of India to enter into such agreement without due deliberation by the council of ministers of their respective states and without prior approval of the governor of the state of Punjab as well as of the lieutenant governor of National Capital Territory Delhi,” according to the memorandum.
State Congress vice-president Sunder Sham Arora, deputy CLP leader Raj Kumar Chabbewal and general secretary Capt Sandeep Sandhu were part of the delegation, which also submitted another memorandum expressing concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
{{/usCountry}}State Congress vice-president Sunder Sham Arora, deputy CLP leader Raj Kumar Chabbewal and general secretary Capt Sandeep Sandhu were part of the delegation, which also submitted another memorandum expressing concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
{{/usCountry}}Briefing reporters after submitting the memoranda, Warring and Bajwa said the governor told the delegation that in case of any violation of the Constitution, he will take necessary measures. Asserting that the CM of Punjab had committed an illegality under Article 154, the memorandum quoted the Constitution, saying, “The executive power of the state shall be vested in the governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this constitution.”
Maintaining that the Delhi CM also did not have any authority to sign the agreement, the memorandum said, “the Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India vide notification dated 28 March 2021 has amended the Govt of National Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, wherein Section 21 of the 1991 Act has been amended and sub - section 3 has been inserted which stipulates that the expression “Government” referred to in any law to be made by the Legislative Assembly shall mean the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Another memorandum drew the governor’s attention towards the alarming deterioration of law and order situation.
“Murders, loot and robbery have become norm of the day. The incumbent government seems to have no clue about what is happening in the state,” it said.
Asserting that there was negligence on part of authorities in the Patiala clash, the party delegation said this happened despite the fact that the state government had got advance intelligence inputs that tension was building up and tempers were rising in the city between two groups of people. “There was complete failure of the administration,” it said, terming the replacement of some police officers as “too little, too late”. They also accused the government of misusing the state police to settle personal scores with political opponents.
Warring, other Cong leaders visit Patiala
PATIALA: Warring congratulated people of Patiala for defeating divisive forces despite grave provocations. The state Congress chief, along with senior party leaders, including the working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu, visited Patiala, four days after communal violence rocked the city
Former minister Brahm Mohindra, ex-MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur, party candidates who contested the assembly elections, including Harry Mann, Mohit Mohindra, Vishnu Sharma, Didar Singh Shatrana, were among others present.
The Congress leaders also paid obeisance at Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib and Kali Mata Mandir and prayed for peace and harmony in the state.
The PCC president reiterated that violence in Patiala could have easily been prevented had the government acted on the warnings and intelligence inputs.