Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Monday paid tributes to the victims of Lakhimpur Kheri incident, including four farmers and a journalist, besides others on the first day of a special session that lasted for less than nine minutes.
The opening day of the two-day special session was adjourned for two days, to be met on Thursday (November 11), after the Speaker Rana KP Singh read out obituary references, besides the names of the four farmers and a journalist killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh on October 3.
The names of the four farmers were included in the obituary list after the state Cabinet Minister Pargat Singh and the Leader of Opposition and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Harpal Singh Cheema requested the Speaker.
This is the first session since the change in the political leadership in the Congress, with Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi being the Leader of the House. He entered the House by touching the ground in respect.
The names of the seven obituary references are former Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan, former parliamentary secretary Ravinder Singh Sandhu, IFFCO chairman Balwinder Singh Nakai, and freedom fighters Niranjan Singh and Avinash Chander.
Naib Subedar Jaswinder Singh and Sepoy Manjit Singh, who died in the line of duty fighting insurgents in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on October 11, were also remembered on the occasion.
The House was adjourned for a day and will resume on Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday are off-days.
Notably, the State Cabinet had on Sunday decided to extend the special session of the Vidhan Sabha by a day, November 11. Earlier, the assembly session had been convened on November 8.
Last month, the Cabinet had approved summoning of the special session to oppose the Centre’s notification extending the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) along the international border and the Centre’s three farm laws.
The House, on Thursday, is expected to pass a resolution opposing the Centre’s notification to extend the BSF jurisdiction, besides taking up legislation business, including passage of bills.
Later, the Business Advisory Council meeting was also cancelled.
Opposing the Government’s decision to adjourn the House for two-day and calling it on November 11, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday alleged that the Government was not only violating the Constitution by taking such ‘Tughlaq decisions’ but was also imposing unnecessary burden on the people’s money (government exchequer).
AAP MLA and the Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema and MLA Aman Arora said that the Government was running headless. “The whole thrust of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his Cabinet has been on how to cover up the shortcomings of over four-and-a-half-years of futile rule. That is why the government is running away from the protesters sitting on the streets and the questions of the Opposition in the House,” he said.
Pointing out that the cost of one day session comes to Rs 70,000 which must have increased even more due to inflation, Cheema asked the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister to tell who is responsible for this wasteful expenditure. He demanded that the pending monsoon session be called at the earliest for at least 15 days and reiterated the demand for live telecast.
Arora pointed out that this was happening for the first time in the history of 70 years, when the session was going on continuously; but two days’ holiday was given between Tuesday to Thursday. “The rules are being kept in abeyance, whereas there should be 40 days of seating in a year but it used to be only 10-11 days,” he said.
Cheema also accused the Congress Government of running away from confronting the issues of the Opposition and the people. “The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) was scheduled to meet after today’s session but the government cancelled the meeting on the spot,” said Cheema adding that today’s BAC meeting was necessary, because the meeting was supposed to discuss extending the session; but the government ran away from confrontation.
Meanwhile, SAD legislature wing on Monday asked Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh to extend the duration of the forthcoming special assembly session to 10 days to discuss burning issues of the State as well as take stock of the promises made to Punjabis by the Congress party and why they had not been fulfilled.
Akali Dal’s legislature party leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, in a memorandum to the Speaker, stated that since this would be the last session of the current House, Punjabis expected the ruling Congress party to given an account of their work besides telling people why promises made to farmers, youth and under privileged sections of the society had not been fulfilled.
Meanwhile, Dhillon also raised objection to the manner in which the Congress government had drafted the resolution regarding extension of the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) from the earlier 15 to 50 kms. “The resolution, in its current form, would not achieve anything. The issue is one of direct interference of the Centre in State affairs. The State Government must pass an executive order disallowing the interference of BSF in policing matters beyond 15 km instead of passing mere resolutions which will not change the situation on the ground,” he added.