Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, The Vidhan Sabha today witnessed skirmishes between the ruling SAD-BJP coalition and the Opposition leaders with the Congress MLAs staging a walkout for not “being given adequate time” for discussion on key issues, including drug trade.
Unruly scenes were witnessed during the question hour as brothers Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains (MLAs from Ludhiana) wanted to ask a supplementary question on the status of an old fort in Ludhiana. The question was originally put up by Akali MLA Ranjit Singh Dhillon.
While Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal was probably making up his mind to respond, the Bains brothers started contending that they were not being given time to raise their questions.
Atwal tried to defuse the situation saying he was looking towards Simarjit Singh. But the Bains brothers did not budge, seemingly not satisfied with the response of the Speaker. They left their seats and sat on the carpet to register their protest, later moving to the well of the House amidst raising of slogans.
The Assembly witnessed disruption for over 15 minutes with Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia and the Bains brothers targeting each other.
At this point of time, the Congress MLAs too started creating ruckus, claiming they too were not being granted adequate time for raising their issues. They also rushed to the well and subsequently walked out.
“I only wanted to know whether the government is going to preserve the fort. Are any steps being taken to renovate the ancestral house of Shaheed Sukhdev in Ludhiana? What’s wrong in these questions? I am never allowed to speak. We may be Independent MLAs, but we are members of the House,” quipped Simarjit Singh while talking to The Tribune outside the Vidhan Sabha.
Responding to the query by MLA Ranjit Singh Dhillon, Tourism Minister Sohan Singh Thandal said the Ludhiana fort had been preserved and nobody would be allowed to encroach upon its land. Dhillon had alleged that some people were encroaching upon the fort land by constructing houses on it.
Responding to another question, Thandal said there was no proposal to release more tigers in the Bhattian village (Ludhiana) tiger safari where the number of tigers had come down from 10 to a mere two.
Congress MLA Raj Kumar Verka raised a question as to why inter-locking tiles were used on lanes and streets in Amritsar, particularly when “these got damaged easily”. “More than 50 per cent of such tiles have already got damaged,” he said.
Responding to this, Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi said he was ready to order a probe, and that the work of laying tiles was undertaken on merit after floating online tenders.
Legislator Hardayal Kamboj said there was no bus service to Gurditpur village in Rajpura while Justice Nirmal Singh of the SAD sought waiver of loans worth Rs 9 crore of the people belonging to the Scheduled Caste category.
Prem Mittal, MLA, demanded setting up of a grid in Mansa while Balbir Singh Sidhu rued delay in the completion of the tehsil complex building in Tapa Mandi. Congress MLA Randip Singh Nabha alleged it was ironical that certain important questions were either postponed or got no response from the ruling party.
