Chandigadh, October 23: Accusing the ruling Congress of running away from public issues, Punjab Aam Aadmi Party asked why the Channi government was not convening the pending monsoon session of the Assembly.
Senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema has urged the newly appointed Chief Minister of Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi to immediately convene the remaining monsoon session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly in order to discuss all the remaining and public interest issues of Punjab.
A 15-day session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly is required to be called to reach a permanent solution of these important issues related to common people of Punjab.
In a statement issued from the party headquarters on Saturday, Harpal Singh Cheema said that the ruling Congress is not only running away from facing pending public issues but is also making fun of the Constitution and rules & regulations.
Cheema said that the Congress is hesitant to call the Monsoon session under the guise of a special session dedicated to the 400th martyrdom of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji.
The special session of September 3 cannot be technically and constitutionally added with the monsoon session because in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting held before the start of the special session, Speaker of the Assembly Rana KP Singh had assured that the session would be called within 15-20 days in which all the remaining issues will be discussed. He said that even after 53 days, the session has not been called.
Harpal Singh Cheema said that the issues of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Kotkapura firing incident, unemployment, loan waiver, private power purchase agreements including drug, sand, liquor, transport etc. remain as it is.
Whereas the Congress party in its 2017 election manifesto had promised to address all these issues. Even though Congress has tried to save itself by changing the leader, but they cannot run away from accountability to the people.
Cheema demanded to reserve two special days for the anti-agriculture black law and permanent solution to the agrarian crisis, saying that the joint proposal against the increase in the working area of BSF in Punjab, costly electricity to the people of Punjab and the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) entered into by the previous Badal government with private power companies should have been cancelled during this session itself.
The AAP leader said that today Punjab has become the land of protest. There is a need to discuss the issues related to farmers, labourers, traders, employees and unemployed in the assembly because this remaining monsoon session is the last session of the current government.
For this, instead of running away from these pressing issues that are pending, Congress should face it in the House. He said that the proceedings of this session should be telecasted live and the media should be allowed to enter the premises of the Assembly.
For a long time, journalists are not being allowed to come to the assembly premises citing Covid rules.
Reminding Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi of his tenure as the leader of the opposition party, Harpal Singh Cheema said that when Channi was the leader of the opposition, he himself used to demand a long session from the then Badal government.
For this reason, Chief Minister Channi should also call the rest of the monsoon session for at least 15 days. Cheema said that the people of Punjab are worried because the mafia rule is mighty in the state and the youth have been trapped in the addiction to drugs.
