Chandigarh, March 22: The Punjab government will table all reports of the various Commissions set up by it in the Vidhan Sabha, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced today.
He was replying to a query raised by the Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira during the speech of MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on the motion of thanks on the Governor’s address in the state Assembly on the second day of the Budget Session.
Talking to mediapersons later, the Chief Minister said that while the Narang Commission report was ready to be presented in the House during the current Budget Session, the reports of the Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commision and Justice (Retd) Mehtab Singh Commission would be tabled in the Assembly once they are finalized. The government had set up the Justice (Retd) Narang Commission to probe illegal sand mining while the Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commission and the Justice (Retd) Mehtab Singh Commission were tasked, respectively, with investigating the sacrilege cases and false cases registered during the SAD-BJP regime.
The issue of the sacrilege cases figured prominently in the House as Congress MLAs, joined by the main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), cornered the Akalis head over the issues of drugs and lawlessness, as well as the cases of sacrilege reported during their rule.
Leader of the Opposition Sukhpal Khaira supported the efforts of the Captain Amarinder government to investigate the various allegations against the erstwhile SAD-BJP government and its endeavor to bring the guilty to book.
While speaking on the motion of thanks on the Governor’s address, MLA Dera Baba Nanak Sukhjinder Randhawa lashed out at the Akalis for their misdeeds and said the incidents of religious sacrilege had deeply hurt the feelings of Punjabis all over the world. Randhawa accused the Akalis of engineering the sacrilege incidents just to divert attention from their growing failures at that time.
Randhawa also hit out at the Akalis for continuing to be a part of the BJP led NDA government at the Centre even though the latter had been continuously ignoring the interests of the farming community. The Akalis, who claim to be the champions of farmers’ cause, have never done anything to safeguard the interests of the farming sector, he added.
Ridiculing the father-son Badal duo for bartering away the interests of the state just to secure a Cabinet berth for their family member, he said the people of Punjab would never forgive the Akalis for destroying the state’s pride and prestige. Had the Akalis been sincerely committed to the cause of the peasantry, they would have prevailed upon the Centre to get some liberal package for the farmers, he added.
Randhawa, who came down heavily on Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Majithia for running away from the House, said the `Poll Kholl’ rallies of the Akalis had proved to be a total failure because of the lukewarm response of the people, who were not ready to be fooled again by the SAD. He said the current session of the Vidhan Sabha would expose the misdeeds of the Akalis, who would not dare to indulge in such political gimmicks again.
Speaking on the motion, MLA Gidderbaha Raja Warring lauded Captain Amarinder for fulfilling his promise of waiving off farmers’ debt despite the state’s poor financial health. He also congratulated the Chief Minister for the improved law and order situation in the state and for restoring the confidence of the citizens by eliminating the gangsters, who had flourished earlier because of the SAD-BJP government’s collusion.
Warring also spoke about the Congress government’s success against the drugs mafia and said not only had the drugs menace been significantly controlled but the affected youth were now being successfully rehabilitated to enable them to live with dignity.
