Bajwa leads Opp charge on session’s legality, demands discussion on SYL, sacrilege

“There is a big constitutional crisis in Punjab today. The governor has said this is an illegal session. You are the custodian of the House (speaker). The governor has not given his assent to many bills earlier. Whatever money you are spending on this session, whatever bills you are planning to bring, the entire purpose is defeated when the Governor calls the session illegal. You have been unable to clarify whether this session is part of the monsoon session or winter session,” said Bajwa.

Amid the ongoing tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the AAP government, the Governor had on Thursday written to the chief minister, withholding his approval for the three Bills, slated to be tabled in the two-day session. Purohit also “strongly suggested” the Mann government to call either a monsoon or winter session instead of choosing to continue on this “precarious course”.

In the House, Bajwa pointed out that the Governor has said that if the government takes the requisite permission from him for holding the session then he is ready to grant it.

“All bills will be ratified and everything will be in order. As Opposition, we are in a dilemma. There are many issues which are needed to be raised in the House. If we do not bring them here then people will ask why you did not attend the session. But we do not know whether session is legal or illegal,” he said.

The government had decided to go ahead with the session despite the Governor’s secretariat having said that the two-day sitting was “bound to be illegal” and any business conducted during it is “unlawful”.

The Speaker vehemently asserted that the session is legal. “If the session is being held it is a legal session. As Speaker, this Chair deems the session as legal…I have not received any communication from the Governor till now. You may have got it…Till I do not get it, I will not do anything,” Sandhwan said.

However, Bajwa and some other Congress MLAs stood up.

“There are many issues in Punjab which have to be discussed,” Bajwa said, adding the SYL canal is Punjab’s jugular vein. He questioned the treasury benches if they were going to hold any discussion on it. He also raised the issue of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak speaking in favour of sharing water with Haryana. He should be suspended, said Bajwa.

When the Speaker interjected that question hour is sacrosanct and these issues can be raised in Zero Hour, the Congress MLAs gathered in the well of the house raised slogans against the government as well as the Speaker.

“This House is there to discuss all issues. Bargari and Behbal Kalan will be discussed, everything will discussed but all according to rules and regulations,” the Speaker said.

Continuing with his attack during the Zero Hour, Bajwa said Bargari and Behbal Kalan are very close to heart of every Punjabi. “Your party convenor used to say that this issue will be resolved in 24 hours when a honest chief minister takes over. Yesterday a statement has come from a former IPS officer and now an AAP MLA saying that he had faith in CM because of which he gave up his job in the IPS to join the party expecting justice will be done in the sacrilege cases. But now the new SIT is changing the statements of witnesses. We demand a debate on it. You used Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh in election campaign. The man who quit his government service is questioning you,” he said.

He also raised the issue of AAP MLA from Jalandhar Sheetal Angural levelling allegations against AAP MP from Jalandhar Sushil Kumar Rinku.