The budget session of the Punjab vidhan sabha resumed post-recess on a stormy note on Wednesday with members of the opposition Congress raising slogans in the well of the House after their adjournment motion on law and order was disallowed.
As soon as Question Hour began, leader of opposition (LOP) Partap Singh Bajwa rose to his feet and took up the adjournment motion notice given by him on the “mysterious disappearance of (Waris Punjab De chief) Amritpal Singh from the clutches of Punjab Police and complete collapse of law and order” in the state. Bajwa said that law and order issue should be discussed on priority, requesting speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to switch on his microphone. The speaker asked the Congress member to take his seat and raise the issue during Zero Hour.
Bajwa, however, persisted with his demand, urging the speaker to allow him and his party colleagues to speak on law and order situation in the state. Sandhwan informed the Congress legislators that their adjournment motion had been disallowed. At this, Congress MLAs entered the well of the House and started shouting slogans against the speaker and the state government.
Sandhwan appealed to the protesting members to let the House function, saying that Question Hour is “sacrosanct”. “In Delhi, their party says the House is not being allowed to run. Here they (Congress members) themselves are not allowing it to function. People of Punjab will not tolerate this. People are watching you,” the speaker said. The Congress members continued raising slogans and even alleged that people from Delhi were calling the shots, but much of what they said was not audible in the din. At one stage, there was commotion when several Congress members suddenly rushed towards a room next to the members’ exit door and tried to get into it, but were stopped by the watch and ward staff of the state assembly. Some Congress members did not ask their questions when their turn came and the speaker called their names. Later, they walked out to register their protest. In their absence, chief minister Bhagwant Mann and other ministers took digs at the Congress members for leaving the House. Water resources minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer alleged that Congress MLAs “ran away” because an official resolution was to be moved by him in the House later against an Ordinance promulgated by their party’s (Congress) government in Himachal Pradesh on February 15 to impose a levy on hydel power generated in the hill state. The budget session resumed only for one day on Wednesday after a 10-day recess and was later adjourned sine die.
{{/usCountry}}Sandhwan appealed to the protesting members to let the House function, saying that Question Hour is “sacrosanct”. “In Delhi, their party says the House is not being allowed to run. Here they (Congress members) themselves are not allowing it to function. People of Punjab will not tolerate this. People are watching you,” the speaker said. The Congress members continued raising slogans and even alleged that people from Delhi were calling the shots, but much of what they said was not audible in the din. At one stage, there was commotion when several Congress members suddenly rushed towards a room next to the members’ exit door and tried to get into it, but were stopped by the watch and ward staff of the state assembly. Some Congress members did not ask their questions when their turn came and the speaker called their names. Later, they walked out to register their protest. In their absence, chief minister Bhagwant Mann and other ministers took digs at the Congress members for leaving the House. Water resources minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer alleged that Congress MLAs “ran away” because an official resolution was to be moved by him in the House later against an Ordinance promulgated by their party’s (Congress) government in Himachal Pradesh on February 15 to impose a levy on hydel power generated in the hill state. The budget session resumed only for one day on Wednesday after a 10-day recess and was later adjourned sine die.
{{/usCountry}}SAD condemns slapping NSA on Amritpal
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for invoking the National Security Act (NSA) against radical leader and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh. SAD legislature party leader Manpreet Singh Ayali brought up the issue during Zero Hour, stating that the invoking of NSA is completely wrong. “Several Sikh youth are being implicated in false cases…If anyone, be it Amritpal Singh or any other person, has done anything wrong action should be taken under the ambit of law,” he said. Ayali also criticized the suspension of mobile internet services in the state in the wake of the police crackdown against the Waris Punjab De head and his associates. He also sought the release of “innocent Sikhs” who have been arrested during the ongoing operation. However, BJP’s state unit president Ashwani Sharma, while lauding the police action against Amritpal, slammed the Waris Punjab De chief’s actions and utterances. The radical leader had said that he was not a resident of India and did not believe in the Constitution, the BJP MLA said. He also expressed his support for the firm steps taken against those who were trying to break the country. “There was no need for nitpicking. We stand with the government in its firm steps against such elements,” he said.