Chandigarh: Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, Saturday sought the resignation of Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on moral grounds for ‘squandering’ money from the state exchequer on an ‘illegal’ house session.
The two-day Punjab assembly session that began Friday was cut short with the AAP government announcing it would move the Supreme Court against the governor for not approving the three Bills that were to be tabled in the House.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit termed the session illegal and withheld his approval of the revenue-related Bills.
Congress leader Bajwa Saturday said Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan abruptly called off the ongoing session and adjourned it sine die.
‘The haste with which the session was adjourned proves that the session was illegal. Therefore, someone from the government must bear the onus of calling the house session in the first place,’ Bajwa said in a statement.
‘Neither did the Aam Aadmi Party present any bill nor did it hold any brainstorming discussion on Punjab issues take place in the session. Hence, what was the point of holding this session? All the Punjab CM did was announce that they would move to the Supreme Court of India against the Governor of Punjab’s letter in which he had termed the session illegal,’ Bajwa added.
The Qadian MLA said there has never been such a casual approach to summoning the House without a decision on the business to be transacted, he said.
‘Sine die adjournment of the House cannot be a routine. It is an exception to be used only in unforeseeable circumstances and emergent situations. It is also used to avoid resummoning the House at short notice through the usual mode adopted after prorogation,’ said Bajwa.
The opposition leader said it takes around Rs 75 lakh to hold the Vidhan Sabha session for a day.
‘It was Punjab’s taxpayers’ hard-earned money that the AAP government wasted recklessly yesterday. The AAP government must deposit this money in the exchequer from its party funds,’ he demanded.
(Published 21 October 2023, 16:14 IST)