House Talk

Mattewal,Saini figures in budget debate

During discussion on demand for grants,Congress MLA Ripjit Brar raised the issue of Sumedh Singh Saini continuing as the Punjab Vigilance chief despite two criminal cases pending against him. When Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon asked him how the issue was related to budget demands,Brar replied: “Saini is drawing perks and allowances from the state budget. The name of Punjab’s Advocate General H S Mattewal also featured in the budget debate. Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said lakhs are being spent on those granted the status of a Cabinet minister by the government. “The budget of the AG office runs into several hundreds of crores. Mattewal is keeping unwell but continues to hold the post.” When Industries Minister Manoranjan Kalia told the Congress MLA that many union ministers of Congress such as Arjun Singh too enjoyed Cabinet berths despite keeping unwell,Khaira quipped,“They were mentally stable.”

What you want,asks Congress

On not being allowed to speak during the debate on Appropriation Bill 2011,Congress MLA Avtar Singh Brar said: “You have a problem when we speak. When we boycott,it’s also a problem. So tell us which way we should proceed.”

The back-up man

When it comes to providing back-up support,no one does it better than Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia. The telepathy between the two ensured that Majithia drowned the Opposition’s voice whenever the need arose. Congress MLA once even requested the CM to ask “kaka” (Majithia) to sit down. As for Sukhbir,he provided total support with figures to FM Dr Upinderjit Kaur,who more than once fumbled on numbers.