Din in Punjab House as oppn MLAs spar, Congress remains a spectator
DAY 2 MLAs to declare assets by Jan 1, bill to rename Adampur airport after Guru Ravidas passed
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab assembly witnessed noisy scenes on day two of the winter session on Tuesday with the opposition parties indulging in a slugfest after the Aam Aadmi Party sought a CBI probe into an alleged conspiracy against its leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira in a drug case.
AAP members’ demand, which came immediately after the House proceedings began, got a quick retort from SAD-BJP legislators. Raising slogans and flashing placards and posters, the opposition members trooped into the well of the House, throwing it into chaos. The treasury benches remained a spectator.
The AAP and Lok Insaaf Party, its alliance partner, were pressing for an adjournment motion for a discussion on the audio clip controversy, whereas SAD-BJP MLAs began by raising the drugs issue and then switched to the issue of non-implementation of farm debt writeoff, a Congress poll promise.
Speaker Rana KP Singh adjourned the House for 30 minutes as the question hour for which one hour is allocated got over within half an hour. The sloganeering continued throughout the day’s proceedings. AAP-LIP legislators also staged a walkout over the issue of reduction in the number of sittings of the House.
CM Capt Amarinder Singh slammed opposition MLAs for “wasting” public money and precious time of the House by disrupting the proceedings. The assembly passed a bill making it mandatory for all MLAs to declare their property details by January 1 every year.
CHANDIGARH: A bitter battle between the two opposition alliances led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) over the drug taint issue disrupted proceedings of the Punjab assembly on the second day of the winter session, with both sides trying to outshout the other.
Members of AAP-Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) and SAD-BJP raised slogans almost throughout the 95-minute proceedings, and treasury benches went ahead with the day’s business amid the din.
But it was the AAP and LIP members, mostly first-timers, who were more combative and put their experienced rivals in the shade. The Akalis, who had openly declared beforehand their intention of going after leader of opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira of the AAP and press for his resignation, seemed to have an off day.
The AAP legislators, fired up by the controversial audio clip released by two MLAs of LIP about a bid to allegedly bribe a high court judge in a case against Khaira, had decided to respond to the Akali threat with a counteroffensive. They stuck to the script from the get-go, demanding an adjournment motion for a discussion on the “judicial scandal”.
When speaker Rana KP Singh asked them to take up the issue after Question Hour, the AAP and LIP members, except former leader of opposition HS Phoolka, rushed to the well, carrying placards to seek a CBI inquiry into the clip. They also started shouting slogans to rake up the drug controversy during the previous government. A few placards also had an alleged photograph of former Akali minister Bikram Majithia with those named in a drug probe.
Akali and BJP legislators responded with counter-sloganeering against Khaira, but much of it was not audible in the din. The speaker expunged the slogans from the record. The Akali members also waved papers showing photos of Khaira with former Dhilwan market committee chairman Gurdev Singh who has been convicted in a drug case.
Rana KP again asked the opposition members not to disrupt the Question Hour and decided to go ahead with the proceedings. However, the two sides continued with their sloganeering. The AAP pressed for CBI inquiry whereas the SAD also raised the farm debt waiver issue then, accusing the Congress government of not fulfilling their promise.
Former CM Parkash Singh Badal was present for the first few minutes, but left before AkaliBJP members entered the well. The spat came to a boil when members of both sides came face to face with only the staff’s table separating them. They tested their lung power. As questions were over, speaker adjourned the House for half an hour.
AAP SEEKS STATEMENT BY CM ON AUDIO CLIP
In the Zero Hour, Khaira referring to the audio clip that was released by the Bains brothers of LIP on Monday, and said a web was woven around him. “Sukhbir Badal (SAD chief) and Rana Gurjit (power minister) are trying to frame me. We need a CBI inquiry into the matter to know who’s behind this. I want the CM to give a statement on the matter.”
Kanwar Sandhu of the AAP asked the government to give clarity on the work done by a special investigation team into the drug cases. “We want to know who have been named as guilty of drug trade by the SIT and the names of politicians that have figured,” he said, seeking debate on the issue. The AAP also protested the failure to hold debate on other issues.
AS MEMBERS OF AAPLIP AND SADBJP RAISED SLOGANS THROUGHOUT THE PROCEEDINGS, TREASURY BENCHES WENT AHEAD WITH THE BUSINESS AMID THE DIN