Tossed turbans in Punjab Assembly bring AAP, SAD MLAs together for common cause

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 22

Tossing off of turbans in the Punjab Assembly on Thursday after the protesting AAP MLAs were removed from the House seems to have brought the AAP and SAD leaders together as the two joined forces against the Speaker.

As soon as the House resumed on Thursday, AAP MLA Sukhpal Khaira and Simarjit Singh Bains were prevented from entering the House. Following this, they staged a dharna outside the Assembly. They alleged that Speaker Rana KP and the Congress government were preventing them from entering the House after they had raised the issue of sand and land mafias. 

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Bains was suspended for the remaining Assembly session on June 15, while Khaira on June 16. 

AAP members were also prevented by the police from entering the House. They raised anti-government slogans saying police could not stop them on the basis of an unsigned order.

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SAD-BJP MLAs also walked out of the House, except BJP MLA Dinesh Babbu.

Khaira said AAP MLA Pirmal Singh Khalsa’s turban was tossed off as they were being removed from the House. Khaira and Bains raised slogans of ‘Beiman sarkar' and 'mafia speaker murdabad’.                       

AAP MLA Pirmal Singh from Bhadaur addressed the media outside the Vidhan Sabha, alleging that his turban was tossed off by the marshals. He claimed that the Speaker did not hear them out.                       

AAP MLAs alleged that male marshals removed even AAP’s women MLAs. They alleged that MLAs Baljinder Kaur, Rupinder Kaur and Sarabjit Kaur were also manhandled.                                                

Party's Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu said they had just asked the Speaker to allow Bains and Khaira to enter the House; but they were ordered to be removed, which is a murder of democracy.                       

The MLAs said Pirmal is a Dalit and this was yet another attack on a Dalit leader after the attack on SAD Dalit MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu on Wednesday.   

Later, Speaker Rana KP brought a resolution against Tinu for using “unparliamentary language” against a minister in the House. Akali MLAs raised slogans against the Speaker and went into the Well of the House before staging a walkout from the Assembly.                                                         

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal then led a forced entry of AAP MLAs into the House. There was pandemonium in the House as SAD and AAP MLAs forced their way in by pushing away the marshals and raised slogans against the Speaker.                    

Following this, the House was adjourned for 15 minutes.                       

Akali-BJP and AAP MLAs later sat on their seats and challenged the Congress MLAs. Following this, the Congress MLAs went into a huddle around Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, apparently to discuss their strategy.      

But the marshals did not allow Pirmal Singh to enter the Vidhan Sabha.                       

Kanwar Sandhu later told The Tribune that there was no order to stop them from entering the House, so they forced their way in.                       

Then, marshals arrived in full force, lifting the AAP MLAs and removing them from the House. Akali MLAs tried to stop the marshals from doing so but they were also roughed up.                        

Turbans again toppled in the House as SAD MLA Bikram Singh Majithia rushed towards the Speaker with the tossed turban of an AAP MLA. He was stopped by the marshals.                       

The Speaker again adjourned the House, ordering that all AAP MLAs be removed from the premises of the Vidhan Sabha after they were removed from the House.

Meanwhile, Bikram Majithia and Congress MLA Kuljit Singh Nagra continued to trade barbs even as the House remained adjourned.  Majithia rose to speak with the tossed turban of the AAP MLA in his hand, but all Congress MLAs rose to oppose Majithia.                       

Speaker Rana KP asked Capt Amarinder Singh to address the House, but Akalis rose saying they would not allow the House to function till they were heard.                       

Akali MLAs again went into the Well of the House and raise slogans. They also hurled the papers at the Speaker.  The Speaker then ordered the marshals to remove all Akali MLAs from the Vidhan Sabha.                       

Following this, Akali MLAs led by Sukhbir Badal walked out of the House on their own as marshals tried to remove them.                       

Tinu was earlier manhandled by the marshals after he tried to prevent them from removing the AAP MLAs from the House. AAP MLA Sarabjit Kaur Manuke was reportedly injured and even fainted after allegedly being manhandled by the marshals.                                             

Later, Sukhbir said it was a sad day for democracy. He accused the Speaker--referring to him as “goonda KP”-- of disrespecting Sikhs by tossing turbans of Gursikh MLAs. He said the SAD-BJP would launch an agitation to get him removed. “We are elected representatives and ‘goonda KP’ cannot use his bouncers to insult us, especially Gur Sikh MLAs,” he said. “We will go to the minority commission as women MLAs were molested and Dalit MLAs manhandled,” Sukhbir claimed.                                                                            

Majithia claimed that he was witness to the Budhlada and Bhadaur MLAs being kicked by the marshals. Sikhs had been insulted in the Vidhan Sabha, he added.                       

When Amarinder addressed the House, there were only Congress MLAs present. The CM spoke about his debt relief scheme. The CM said all girls getting education in state government institutes had not been announced in the budget;  but this would be done so when the new education policy came out and separate allocations would be made for this. The CM left the House after the address.

Congress MLA Pargat Singh spoke of having a training programme for the House.                       

Parliamentary Affairs minister Brahm Mohindra moved a privilege motion against SAD-BJP and AAP-LIP MLAs.

AAP MLA Jai Kishan was accused of hitting a marshal and damaging the property of the Vidhan Sabha.                    

AAP leaders HS Phoolka, Kanwar Sandhu and Aman Arora travelled with Akali MLAs Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Majithia along with the turban of AAP MLA Pirmal Singh in Sukhbir’s car to the General Hospital, Sector 16, where an injured Pirmal was taken.

Meanwhile, the SAD has called an emergency meeting in its party office.