Partap Singh Bajwa, Leader of Opposition (LoP), said today that the short notice of the Vidhan Sabha session had left them without time to discuss pressing issues, such as illegal mining, Sutlej Yamuna Link, and the increasing confrontations between AAP legislators and police officers.
Before calling the session, the Governor should have given 15 days’ noticeUnder the legislative rules, the AAP government denies elected representatives the tool of debate. The LoP said that the matter would be discussed at the next meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC)
Bajwa questioned the intent of the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government for holding the session so quickly, saying that being a border state, there were many serious issues other than GST, power and stubble-burning that needed to be discussed.
According to Bajwa, “I don’t see any emerging situation.”. It would have been more practical to call a regular session before the end of December to give the government and members time to prepare. In spite of this, elected members were denied the opportunity to engage in debate and discussion while adhering to legislative requirements.”
Given the time gap between calling the session and conducting it, there will be no meaningful discussion in Zero Hour or Question Hour, he said, adding the confidence motion was meant to mislead voters in poll-bound HP and Gujarat.
Despite having a strong majority in the Assembly, the AAP is wasting state money by bringing a discrete confidence motion, Bajwa said.“AAP MLAs have become law unto themselves, misbehaving with civil and police officials, which is causing a serious law and order problem,” he said. “I have heard that gangs are recruiting youth online. It is a serious issue that needs to be discussed on the House floor.”
