Chandigarh, August 31
In the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab Legislative Party meeting, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh as well as Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu were targeted and the ruling Congress was accused of running away from public issues. It was also demanded that the one-day assembly session dedicated to the 400th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur on September 3 be extended for at least 15 days; so that all the issues affecting the people, including the agricultural crisis, expensive electricity and the mafia, can be discussed in the house.
In the AAP Legislative Party meeting held under the leadership of Leader of Opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema at the Punjab Assembly secretariat, Deputy Leader of Opposition Saravjit Kaur Manuke, MLAs Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Aman Arora, Meet Hayer, Principal Budh Ram, Jai Singh Rodi, Amarjit Singh Sandoa, Kulwant Singh Pandori, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, Master Baldev Singh and Jagtar Singh Hisowal were present.
In a statement issued here, Harpal Singh Cheema said a special session dedicated to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur was welcomed during the meeting, but the government’s intentions were also questioned. Cheema said the ruling Congressmen were avoiding facing the public issues in the house. “They fear that the shortcomings and failures of the government would not make headlines during this pre-election session as today even after four-and-a-half years, the Captain government does not have a single constructive achievement to tell the people of Punjab; which has benefited the people and the state,” he added.
Taking a dig at Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu; Harpal Singh Cheema said if the ruling Congress president cannot extend the term of the upcoming session from his party by 15 days, then by what conscience is he sitting in the Congress? Cheema said this session would be a test for Navjot Singh Sidhu and his fellow Congress MLAs and ministers who tweeted against their own Congress government citing costly power and mafia rule; that being benevolent to Punjab, whether they get the power purchase agreements (PPAs) revoked during this session or their fight was limited to the chair only.
Talking to media on the occasion, MLA Aman Arora said that he has brought a private member’s bill to cancel the power pacts and now it will be seen whether Navjot Singh Sidhu and his fellow MLAs support this pro-people bill or run away from it. Aman Arora further said that if Sidhu wanted, the bill to cancel the power agreements could be passed in the Assembly against the wishes of Captain; as Sidhu had the support of more than 50 Congress MLAs and with the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, there would be a majority in the House. The meeting also strongly condemned the indiscriminate caning of the farmers, women and other protesters by the Haryana and Punjab government.
