Chandigarh, June 19
Skirmishes between the treasury benches and the opposition on a day that is conventionally reserved for tributes to those who died since the last sitting marked the beginning of the budget session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha today.
It all started when leader of the opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal deviated from the resolution moved by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for paying tributes to Jagjit Singh Chauhan, Kirpal Singh Libra, Budh Singh, Dalip Chand, Kartar Singh and Niranjan Singh.
She instead wanted the house to pay tributes to some of the victims of police torture in recent months besides referring to the Nurmahal case in which three persons committed suicide after their alleged torture in police custody. She demanded a thorough inquiry into the case.
In the absence of local bodies and industries minister Manoranjan Kalia, parliamentary and medical education minister Tikshan Sood objected to Bhattal making references to those whose names were not mentioned in the resolution. Kalia is the leader of the BJP legislature party.
Brushing aside the objection, she maintained that she was only following the conventions and past practices of the house,
referring obliquely to similar deviations made by her predecessor during the previous Vidhan Sabha.
Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon also intervened to suggest that tributes should normally be paid to those mentioned in the resolution. At one stage, the Speaker wanted her remarks to be expunged to which she insisted that it could be done later as she was only following the traditions and conventions of the house.
It was an intriguing situation for the treasury benches to pay tributes to former Deputy Speaker of the house and also former finance minister of the state Jagjit Singh Chauhan, who died in April this year. Chauhan, a “Khalistan” ideologue, was mentioned last by Bhattal though in the resolution his name figured at the top.
While both Badal and Sood limited their tributes to Chauhan for his association with the Vidhan Sabha, Bhattal went a step ahead to say that while the opposition paid tributes to him as a former Deputy Speaker, his condemnation for his secessionist activities remained intact.
Charanjit Singh Channi endorsed the resolution on behalf of the independents.
The Congress has made its intention clear of its stand during the remaining part of the budget session and will spare no opportunity to nail the treasury benches, especially on the law and order front.
Tomorrow, finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal will present his maiden budget.
