Punjab Congress legislative Party (ClP) leader Sunil Kumar Jakhar is in dock.
Just about three months after he paraded Tarn Taran victim of police atrocities in the State legislative Assembly, the privilege motion moved by the ruling benches against him take the first step on Monday.
Jakhar, any day now, will be asked to come up with his reply to the allegations of misusing his position, breach of security and breach of privilege against him.
The 13-member Privilege Committee of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, under the chairmanship of SAD MlA Hari Singh Zira, has recorded the statement of the Cabinet Minister Madan Mohan Mittal, who moved the said resolution against Jakhar. However, the meeting was attended by 10 committee members.
Mittal, in his statement before the Committee, reiterated his stand that Jakhar’s act of bringing the Tarn Taran victim in the Assembly was not just the breach of privilege, but also the breach of security of the assembly.
Notably, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on March 15 unanimously passed the privilege motion against the leader of the Opposition Sunil Jakhar for “breach of security”, “breach of privilege”, and “misuse of his official position” by bringing the “unauthorised” police assault victim inside the House without an entry pass.
The motion was admitted after various ‘ifs and buts’ from the Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, two days after it was moved. But, unrelenting Madan Mohan Mittal, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, was bent upon to declare it carried by the House.
Mittal had moved the motion against Jakhar on March 13. Even as Mittal kept pressing upon the Speaker to take up the motion on the very next day, and even the day after, the reluctant Atwal put off it by saying that it was “under consideration”.
Contending his motion, Mittal had stated that Jakhar himself had admitted of that he had brought the girl into the assembly premises without an entry pass, which constitutes a serious breach of privilege of the House which called for a strict action. While constituting the Vidhan Sabha’s privilege committee, the Speaker had asked it to submit the report within one month.
One of the committee members justified the delay in the proceedings to the change in the chairperson of the committee. “Earlier, SAD MlA retired Justice Nirmal Singh was made the chairman of the committee. He later resigned, and in his place Hira Singh Zira was appointed as the chairman,” said a committee member, on the condition of anonymity.