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Punjab floods: AAP MLAs disrupt session, protest against PM Modi
Treasury bench members enter well of House, force adjournment by raising slogans against Centre, reiterating ₹20,000-cr package for state.
In an unprecedented development, the special session of the Punjab assembly was adjourned for 20 minutes on the opening day on Friday after ruling Aam Aadmi Party members stormed the well of the House to protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not paying heed to the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government’s requests for adequate flood compensation.
Soon after state finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema concluded his speech on the resolution moved by the AAP government, condemning the Centre’s lack of response on the Mann’s demand for the ₹20,000-crore flood package, the AAP MLAs stood on their seats holding up placards and raising slogans against the BJP-led Centre and Prime Minister Modi.
Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan had to adjourn the House when the ruling party MLAs ignored his repeated requests to return to their seats.
After the adjournment, the AAP members walked out of the House.
The resolution condemned the Prime Minister’s Office for not responding to repeated requests of the Punjab chief minister for a meeting to apprise him of the full scale of the disaster. They termed the PM’s ₹1,600-crore relief as a token amount and said the Union government must acknowledge the gravity of the disaster and sanction a package of ₹20,000 crore for Punjab.
Recently, Punjab faced its worst floods in decades, triggered by the swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and heavy rainfall that has affected 2,300 villages. The death toll stood at 59, while crops on nearly five lakh acres were damaged.
The ₹1,600-crore relief package was announced by Prime Minister Modi on September 9 after he conducted an aerial survey of affected areas and held meetings with political functionaries, top officials and flood victims.
