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Punjab Budget session: Denied motion on law and order, Congress MLAs stage walkout
Congress MLAs slam Punjab govt after adjournment motion was rejected by speaker stating the matter was sub judice
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government came under fire from the opposition Congress over the “deteriorating” law and order situation in the state on the opening day of the budget session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday.
The Congress MLAs targeted the state government over the “spate” of murders and extortion calls from gangsters to politicians and traders among others in recent days, and opposed the rejection of the notice of an adjournment motion submitted by them on law and order. The adjournment motion was rejected by assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, stating that it could not be allowed as the matter was “sub judice”.
The Congress members pressed for a discussion on law and order and rushed to the well of the House when the demand was not met. They were joined by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The opposition members kept raising slogans for a while and then the Congress and BJP members staged a walkout though the SAD and BSP members stayed back. The AAP government’s defence was mounted by Sunam MLA Aman Arora who claimed a decline in the rate of crime.
Crossfire during zero hour
The crossfire between the two sides took place during zero hour after leader of opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa brought up the notice of their adjournment motion on law and order. “Senior most politicians have been getting threat calls. There is a rise in crime rate, but our adjournment motion has been disallowed saying the matter is sub judice. How can entire law and order be sub judice?” he said, reading out the communication received from the speaker.
Bajwa also sought a clarification from chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who was present in the House at that time, on his video statement that his life was in danger. “Can there be anything more important for all of us if the head of a state says his life is in danger. We are all concerned. I would not have asked for discussion on law and order had the chief minister not made this statement,” he said.
Bajwa said senior Congress leader (former deputy chief minister) OP Soni had also received threat calls and filed a police complaint. “This is a serious situation,” he said. The speaker assured the LoP that adequate time will be given to the members during the session, but the latter kept insisting on a discussion, asking why the state government was shying away from it. The speaker replied that the chief minister will respond on Saturday. Before staging the walkout, the Congress members also protested that they wanted to raise important issues during the zero hour but were not allowed.
‘Govt not running away’
Later, Arora, who opened the discussion on the governor’s address, said the government was not running away from discussion on the issue. Citing the crime data released by the National Crime Records Bureau, the AAP said the rate of crime had gone down. Intervening, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said the security of singer Sidhu Moose Wala and others was curtailed and the details were made public. The murder could not have happened if the threat he (Moose Wala) faced was taken seriously, the Congress MLA claimed.
Bajwa, while participating during the discussion, said that Punjab passed through difficult times in 1980s and 1990s. Referring to the recent clash in Patiala, he said an attempt was made to create communal tension in the state. “We need to take law and order issue seriously,” he said. He also alleged attempts by senior police officers and bureaucrats to save a former director general of police on Behbal Kalan and Bargari issues. Aman Arora questioned the LoP’s allegation, terming it as baseless.
