Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s ‘lock the opposition in House’ remark triggers uproar
Heated exchanges ensued after CM’s statement with Bajwa taking exception said that protests and walkouts are their right under the democratic system
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s “lock the Vidhan Sabha and don’t let opposition stage a walkout” remark on the second day of the budget session triggered an uproar leading to unruly scenes and heated arguments between the treasury benches and the opposition Congress.
Slamming the Opposition for disrupting the governor’s address on the opening day of the session, Mann, before the start of the proceedings, gave the speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan an envelope containing a “lock and key”, to lock the Opposition inside so that “they don’t walk out during a discussion.”
“I will speak the truth, and they will not tolerate it. Put a lock so that they do not run away,” Mann told the speaker.
This led to a heated spat between the Opposition and the treasury benches. The speaker, in a departure from the norm of taking up ‘question hour’ and ‘zero hour’ at the start of the day, allowed the discussion on the disruption of the governor’s address at the request of AAP MLAs.
Taking offence to the CM’s remarks and for changing the schedule, the leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said that the government cannot lock the Vidhan Sabha and keep MLAs hostage, as protests and walkouts are their right under the democratic system of the country.
Bajwa asserted that they (Opposition) would not run away from the discussion, leading to a heated argument between the duo. As Bajwa and Mann sparred, the speaker clarified that putting a lock on the door of the House was symbolic so that the discussion could take place. “I congratulate the CM for making efforts to keep the opposition in the House and make them part of the proceedings. Locking the House is a symbolic remark by the CM, and no one is going to lock the Vidhan Sabha,” said the speaker, but it did little to pacify the Opposition.
The Congress MLAs led by Bajwa entered the well of the House and raised slogans against the CM for snuffing the voice of the opposition and against the speaker for playing a partisan role. Bajwa demanded that the House proceedings should be run as per the schedule.
“The schedule can’t be altered by suspending Question Hour and call attention motion,” Bajwa said.
The speaker told the House that the Question Hour and call attention motion has not been withdrawn and will be taken up after a discussion on the governor’s address.
As the heated exchanges continued, at around 11:25 am, the speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes. Even after the adjournment, the members of the ruling AAP rushed towards the opposition benches after Bajwa made some remarks, and the verbal exchange stopped short of turning physical. The opposition staged a walkout later.
The Congress MLAs kept raising slogans against the government for failing to address farmers’ concerns.
Privilege motion moved against Cong MLAs
Later, at the suggestion of the CM, the House passed a privilege motion against all the Congress MLAs, except Sandeep Jakhar, for disrupting the governor’s address. On March 1, the first day of the session, Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit’s address to the state assembly was disrupted by the opposition, who raised the issues of protesting farmers and resorted to sloganeering.
Amid the uproar, Purohit had cut short his address. He read out a few lines and told the House that the rest of it be “deemed as read”.
Parliamentary affairs minister Balkar Singh proposed the motion. Acting on the resolution, the speaker referred the resolution to the privilege committee for further action.
“The governor was speaking about the development done by our government in the state during two years of AAP government but was interrupted by the Congress party on several occasions, forcing him to abandon his address,” the CM said.
Reacting to the allegations that the state government was interfering in the House proceedings, the CM, in a sharp reaction, said that the opposition cannot dictate how the House will be run. “The speaker will decide how the House will be run,” the CM said, adding, “I want the opposition to listen to the shortcomings of their government and know the development works done by our government.”
Later, speaking in the debate on the governor’s address, AAP MLA from Sardoolgarh Gurpreet Singh Banawali said, “Punjab is on the development path. In case the opposition is serious for the cause of the people of Punjab, they should ask the centre to release the pending accruals and not raise slogans against the government.”
Cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, and ruling party MLAs Saravjit Kaur Manuke and Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi also took part in the debate, while Congress MLAs Amarinder Singh Warring and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa turned down the speaker’s call to take part in the debate. Both MLAs demanded that the House needs an explanation on why the schedule has been altered.
Shiromani Akali Dal’s MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali demanded a ‘girdawari’ to assess the damage to crops during rainfall and hailstorms.