The Punjab assembly on Thursday paid tributes to anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was killed last week by a medical store owner in Mansa, with the Speaker describing him as a “buland awaz” (strong voice) against those peddling poison in the form of drugs.
The opening day of the assembly session began with the House paying tributes to prominent personalities who passed away since its previous sitting in August.
Following obituary references, the first day of the six-day session concluded in nine minutes and six seconds before Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan adjourned the House till Friday.
Those included in the obituary list were former deputy speaker and cabinet minister Chunni Lal Bhagat, former Rajya Sabha member Varinder Bajwa, former MLA Ranjeet Singh, noted orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rattan Lal Mittal, and Vidya Kaur, mother of AAP MLA Manjit Singh Bilaspur.
The House also paid tribute to the eight VB-G RAM G workers who died in a road accident in Sangrur last week.
Congress MLA Sukhwinder Singh Kotli also demanded that the name of the Sangrur man, who allegedly died by suicide last month, also be included in the obituary list.
The House observed a two-minute silence in memory of the deceased after which the Speaker adjourned the sitting.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, a number of cabinet ministers and MLAs stayed away from the session.
Congress burns AAP govt’s effigy
Before entering the assembly, Congress legislators burnt an effigy of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing it of failing to fulfil the aspirations of Punjab’s people.
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, who led the party legislators, said the state government had failed on all fronts even as its five-year term was nearing its end. Congress legislators also raised anti-government slogans in the Vidhan Sabha gallery.
Later, Punjab Pradesh Congress committee president and Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh criticised the government for adjourning the session after nine minutes even as day-long official business, including question hour, calling attention motion and resolutions were listed to be taken up during the day’s proceedings.
Instead of replying to questions on crucial issues, including the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, the government chose to evade accountability and “run away” from the assembly, alleged Singh. “We wanted a debate on the law and order, farming and other issues in the House,” he said.
Bajwa said the Speaker did not conduct the non-official business and claimed that the Opposition parties were not taken into confidence in this regard.
Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Kewal Singh Dhillon also flayed the AAP government over the short session. “The session ended without discussing issues facing the state. This has resulted in a waste of public money worth crores,” said Dhillon here.