Less than half MLAS turn up for three-hour show
Only 56 of 117 members take part; Shiromani Akali Dal legislators stay away, AAP members turn up in personal protective equipment gear
CHANDIGARH: Fifty-six of the 117 Punjab Vidhan Sabha members attended the day-long monsoon session amid the Covid-19 pandemic on Friday. The truncated session began with obituary references at 11am and was adjourned for an hour after paying tributes to 28 personalities, including the Galwan bravehearts.
The assembly was convened amid the pandemic to fulfil the constitutional obligation of meeting within six months of the last session. SAD members skipped the meet due to the Covid-19 protocol after 30 state MLAS tested positive. Aam Aadmi Party legislators, however, chose to attend the session in personal protective equipment (PPE) gear.
42 Congress legislators attended the session, six AAP MLAS, four rebel MLAS of AAP and two each from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Lok Insaf Party were also present in the House.
Three out of six AAP legislators chose to attend the session in personal protective equipment (PPE). They included Aman Arora, Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Master Baldev Singh. Other than them, Jai Kishan Rori, Master Baldev Singh and Baljinder Kaur were also present. Party’s rebel MLAS Pirmal Singh, Jagdev Singh Kamalu and Amarjeet Singh Sandhoa were also present.
The House was adjourned sine die at 2.10pm.
DEMAND FOR MINISTER DHARAMSOT’S SACKING
The AAP raised the issue of the post-matric scholarship scam with Master Baldev Singh asking speaker Rana KP Singh to suspend cabinet minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot. Lok Insaf
Party member Simarjit Singh Bains also raised the issue and praised additional chief secretary Kirpa Shankar Saroj for submitting a report against the minister.
LEADER OF OPPOSITION DENIED ENTRY
Earlier, AAP MLAS, including Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora, Meet Hayer and Sarabjit Kaur Manuke, reached the assembly wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) kits. Cheema, Hayer, Manuke and Baldev Singh held a protest outside the assembly, alleging that despite their negative coronavirus test reports, they were not being allowed to attend the session.
On Thursday, the chief minister and Speaker had appealed to all legislators, who had come in contact with Covidpositive MLAS, to avoid attending the assembly session.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislature group, on the other hand, decided not to attend the session as its MLAS had come in contact with their colleague Gurpartap Singh Wadala, who later tested positive. SAD legislature party leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said the party was following Vidhan Sabha rules and Covid-19 guidelines. The decision was taken at a meeting of the legislature party on Friday morning.
Though the SAD MLAS stayed away, youth Akali activists, led by state chief Parambans Banti Romana, were detained by Chandigarh Police for protesting outside the Vidhan Sabha.