SAD president Sukhbir Badal on Tuesday asked Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh to review his decision of appointing the five MLAs, who have resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as members of various House Committees immediately and disqualify and debar them from contesting elections for six years.
Maintaining that the Speaker and the Congress Government had played a cruel joke on the people of Punjab by making these appointments, Sukhbir said that all democratic norms had been given a go by with this decision.
“We have been claiming that the legislators were used against the SAD by the Congress and functioned as a B team of the Congress party. Now this has been proved. Not only has the Speaker not disqualified the MLAs – HS Phoolka, Sukhpal Khaira and Master Baldev Singh who resigned in January and Nazar Singh Manshaiya and Amarjit Singh Sandoa who resigned in April and May respectively, but has appointed all five legislators to various House committees which is against all rules of ethics and morality,” he said adding that the SAD would use all means at its disposal to oppose this undemocratic decision.
Urging the Speaker to review his decision immediately, he said that the MLAs had violated the anti-defection law by forming new parties, they had contested on new symbols and two of them had even joined the Congress party in the presence of the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
“They should be disqualified and debarred from contesting elections for six years”, he added.
Pointing that the members have resigned from AAP’s primary membership, Sukhbir said: “The tenth schedule of the Constitution is very clear. Any member resigning voluntarily as member of a political party is deemed disqualified. The Speaker should uphold the constitution. It is unfortunate that instead of doing this, long dates are being given to the members for personal hearings to enable them to continue as legislators.”