The already “short” Punjab Vidhan Sabha Winter Session was turned shorter with the Business Advisory Council on Monday deciding to hold single sitting on Tuesday — a development strongly opposed by the Opposition parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janta Party combine.
The business advisory council comprising members of all political parties in the Vidhan Sabha, which met on Monday after the House adjourned for the day, decided to conduct just one sitting on Tuesday instead of two, as proposed earlier.
Visibly upset, leader of Opposition and AAP MlA Sukhpal Khaira walked out of the meeting protesting against the short session.
The AAP has demanded debate on several issues including the farmers’ suicides, discussion on the exposé against him, action taken on the Justice Narang Commission report in sand mining scam, other than the royalty on Punjab’s river waters given to non-riparian states.
“The Speaker said that there is not much business to be discussed…I protested and walked out,” said Khaira after the meeting.
The opposition has all along been accusing the ruling Congress for convening the shortest-ever assembly session in the recallable past to avoid questions on the tall claims it made some seven months back when it came to power in the state.
The Government is being targeted for its failure to realize its “big” pre-poll promises of complete loan waiver, smartphones to youth, jobs for all, enhancing pensions, among others.
The winter session is for three days — from November 27 to 29 — out of which the first day was dedicated just to the obituary references, leaving two days for the actual business for which double sittings were proposed for Tuesday and single for Wednesday.
Interestingly, the government has held a two-day orientation programme to train the greenhorns, and make the MlAs aware of the rules and procedure of the House so that they can debate properly. But, the two days’ time would not be enough for them to make the practical use of what they were being taught.
In fact, both the SAD-BJP and AAP had urged the Speaker by submitting memorandums to extend the session to discuss emergent issues.
SAD lashes at govt decision to curtail session
SAD president Sukhbir Badal on Monday said that the Congress government's decision to further curtail the sittings of the ongoing Vidhan Sabha session proved that it was willing to run away from debate than answer up to its failures on all fronts.
He said that it was shocking that legislative business in the ongoing session had been curtailed from three sittings to two.
“The Speaker had assured to look into the demand. Instead of doing, the business advisory council of the assembly, which is packed with Congress nominees, decreased the number of sittings from a meagre two which proves that the government does not want to discuss any of the people issues listed by the SAD including crisis in the farm sector, breakdown of law and order, withdrawal of all social welfare facilities and non-fulfilment of all promises made to the farmers, youth and unemployed,” said Sukhbir.
He maintained that the SAD-BJP alliance was not even consulted on the issue claiming that the former minister and SAD legislature party head Ajit Singh Kohar was only invited as a special invitee in the business advisory council meeting “which decided to reduce the sittings in an arbitrary and dictatorial manner”.