Punjab Assembly: Akali MLAs protest in one-day session, Congress divided

Chandigarh. The Akali MLAs were absent from the special session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly on Friday. The Akali MLAs protested outside the assembly to extend the time of this special session. This time, the opposition group of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, led by PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, was seen sitting on the back bench. Against their own government, the four rebel ministers Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Sukh Sarkaria and Charanjit Singh Channi sat some distance from the Chief Minister, though their seats were close to the Chief Minister’s seat in all previous sessions.

As soon as the tribute to the House was over, Rana Gurmit Sodhi sought the House’s permission to include prominent sportspersons Nirmal Milkha Singh and Yashpal Sharma, whose deaths the House mourned. Opposition deputy leaders Sarbajit Kaur Manuk and Sharanjit Singh Dhillon demanded that farmers and farm workers killed in the ongoing farmers’ struggle should also be included in the list.

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Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former minister Vikram Singh Majithia has said the government wants to avoid talking to the public. That is why the government does not want to extend the time of the parliament. The Akali MLAs came with placards in their hands. Majithia accused other political parties, including the Congress, of ruining the state’s environment, saying they wanted to spread unrest and impose presidential rule in the state.

Aam Aadmi Party legislators, on the other hand, have refused to oppose the House in any way. The AAP says a one-day special session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly has been convened on the occasion of the 400th ‘Revelation Episode’ of Guru Tegh Bahadur, so they will not oppose the House in honor of the Gurus.