Punjab’s 12 of the total 13 newly-elected parliamentarians on Tuesday took oath at the members of the Lok Sabha, as the pro-Khalistan Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh — who is currently lodged at Assam’s Dibrugarh jail and elected MP from Khadoor Sahib — remained absent owing to legal hurdles.
In the current House, Congress has seven MPs from Punjab, with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) represented by three members, with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) having just one MP, besides two independent MPs.
The oath-taking ceremony began with former Deputy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, elected MP from Gurdaspur, taking oath; followed by Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, who took his oath holding a copy of the Constitution in hand and concluded with the slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Samvidhan”.
Subsequently, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, elected MP from Jalandhar, took oath; followed by AAP’s Hoshiarpur MP Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal, AAP’s Sri Anandpur Sahib MP Malwinder Singh Kang, Punjab Congress president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Fatehgarh Sahib MP and Congress leader Dr Amar Singh, Independent MP from Faridkot Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, Congress’ Ferozepur MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, SAD’s Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, former Minister and AAP MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, and Congress’ Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi.
After Amritsar MP Aujla took his oath, the name of Amritpal Singh was announced. However, due to his incarceration, he was not present in the House and thus did not take his oath. Following this, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, the MP from Jalandhar, took his oath.
Amritpal Singh is currently held under the National Security Act (NSA) in Dibrugarh Jail, Assam. His lawyer Gurpreet Singh Sandhu said that an application was submitted to the District Magistrate in Amritsar requesting arrangements for Amritpal to take his oath as an MP, but no response has been received. Sandhu mentioned that if Amritpal is not allowed to take his oath during the ongoing Parliament session, they will approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
AAP MPs Meet with CM Mann
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who ensured his presence in the Parliament during the oath-taking ceremony of AAP MPs, congratulated the newly elected parliamentarians on social media, expressing his optimism for their future contributions. “I have arrived in Parliament today, and the three AAP MPs have taken their oaths. Congratulations and best wishes for the future. They will robustly voice Punjab's rights and issues. Inquilab Zindabad!” he posted on X.
Following the oath ceremony, the three AAP MPs — Dr Chabbewal, Meet Hayer, and Kang — met with Chief Minister Mann. He extended his congratulations and emphasized that they would effectively raise Punjab’s voice in the Parliament and help resolve the state's issues.
“All our three MPs are very experienced and intelligent. They are well aware of the issues of Punjab. They know how to get things done. Meet Hayer has been an MLA twice and a Minister of many departments in the Punjab government…Kang has been active in politics for a long time. He has been involved in social work since his time in student politics and has been working as the chief spokesperson of AAP Punjab for the last two years. Dr Chabbewal has also been an MLA twice. He has done a lot of work for the common and poor people in his area. His experience will also come in handy in the Parliament,” he said.
Mann said that AAP’s all three MPs will raise the voice for Punjab’s rights in Parliament and will put the issues of the common people of the state in Parliament. “Our MPs will also raise the issue of Punjab's pending funds in Parliament and will put pressure on the central government to get them released as soon as possible,” he said, adding that Rs 10,000 crore of Punjab’s Rural Development Fund (RDF), National Health Mission (NHM), and many other schemes are pending with the Central Government.
