In an apparently well-planned move, the ruling SAD-BJP in Punjab on Thursday unleashed its strategy to prevent Assembly discussions on drug menace in the State. Much to the annoyance of the Opposition, it let loose its legislators and allowed them to snarl at relatively lesser important issues such as problems of stray cattle and dogs in Punjab.
They took more than two hours of assembly time by talking about cows, buffaloes, bulls, and dogs that growled and dogs that bite, leaving no time at all to discuss the ever-haunting drugs issue. The time was rather spent by the ruling party legislators on resolutions, which were to be forwarded to none other than their own Government.
The Opposition’s theory of deliberate attempt by the ruling combine to scuttle the issue was given credence by the fact that even the discussion on stray cattle veered off to matters such as vulgarity in songs.
Opposition legislators repeated requests to either extend the timings for the day’s proceeding or to ask the ruling members to wrap up the discussion earliest on the ‘not-so-important’ issues went unheard.
Taking the bite out of the drugs menace issue in the state, Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal gave no opportunity to the opposition MlAs to take up the drugs issue by first rejecting their privilege motion against Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia, and then refusing to accept its demand to take up the resolution on drugs before the ones on stray cattle and dogs.
Congress legislative Party (ClP) leader Sunil Jakhar, during the question hour, protested the rejection of his privilege motion on the grounds that the issues raised in the same have already been discussed. At the same time, Speaker informed him that the privilege motion against him by SAD MlA Virsa Singh Valtoha has also been rejected. Accepting ‘half-heartedly’ the Speaker's decision, Jakhar pleaded to ‘change the priority’ given to the non-official resolutions and discussing it first.
Atwal contended, “The debate on non-official resolutions is kept in the order after taking out a ballot of these as per assembly procedure”, adding that the same has already been discussed with the leader of the House also making his statement on the same. The sixth day of the ongoing budget session was dedicated to the non-official business and in all, four resolutions - fatal accidents due to stray cattle, measures to control ever-increasing problem of stray dogs, drug menace, and rationalisation of tax system in industrial sector—were listed for the discussion, in that order.
Before the conclusion of proceedings for the day, the House passed two resolutions — “strongly recommending to the State Government to take effective steps to check rising number of fatal accidents taking place on account of stray cattle roaming freely in the cities and on roads and to prevent heavy damage caused to the farmers’ crops”, and “recommending to the State Government to take effective measures to check heavy damage caused by stray dogs and to control their ever-increasing population”.
Discussing the issue of stray cattle, which was already taken up by the House during the calling attention motion moved by the Congress MlA Ajit Inder Singh Mofar, in all 11 members put forth their views, including eight from the treasury benches, that went on for more than two hours.
On the other hand, the resolution on stray dogs was discussed and passed within 15 minutes - that too after Congress MlA Charanjit Singh Channi requested to at least "do some good for the dogs" by passing the resolution before time ends.
later Jakhar, while talking with The Pioneer, maintained that the Government is running away from discussing the important issues. “We had handed over a list of issues to the Speaker requesting to fix time to discuss these on the non-official day, and he had also assured us. But there's nothing," said Jakhar.
Questioning Chief Minister's "clean chit" to Majithia for his alleged involvement in the drug case, Jakhar said that he was no one to give him clean chit. "Only court can give clean chit," he said. Jakhar referred to former minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur who stepped down after his son's name cropped up in the case, saying that this "shows Badal's double standards…he accepted Phillaur's resignation, but gave clean chit to Majithia".
"Badal gave clean chit to Majithia against whom serious allegations were leveled by some of those arrested in the case," said Jakhar adding that the Government was adamant not to face the drugs issue in the Assembly.