Our voice muzzled in Assembly, alleges AAP’s Sukhpal Khaira

Ruchika Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

Aam Aadmi Party leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Wednesday alleged that their voice was muzzled in the current Assembly session.                       

Addressing a press conference here, Khaira said the Speaker and the Congress government were partisan from the very beginning.

He said the party MLAs were forced to protest as the Lok Insaaf Party MLAs — the Bains brothers — were not allowed to sit with the AAP MLAs. He said the Speaker had allowed the LIP and AAP MLAs to sit together on Tuesday.

He said the reason Leader of Opposition HS Phoolka kept sitting on his seat and did not join the party MLAs as they moved to the well of the House to protest was that he had to speak on behalf of the party.

He said the arrogance of the Congress was visible from the top.                       

Party’s Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu said the government should form a committee of MLAs which should decide the seating plan in the House. This committee should have members from all political parties, he added.                       

The AAP MLAs also accused CM Capt Amarinder Singh of appointing a Delhi lawyer, Atul Nanda, as Advocate General of Punjab. Khaira said their party condemned the decision.                                             

He said the relatives of judges and influential lawyers used the AG office as a platform.

Speaking on the occasion, LIP leader Simarjit Singh Bains said he is not publicity-hungry and spoke only for the welfare of Punjab. He rued that the Congress got after him. He said the tradition of the House should be followed while allowing them to sit with the AAP MLAs. He said they would continue to act as a shadow of the government.

Speaking on the occasion, Phoolka said Speaker Rana KP did not say on Tuesday that the Bains brothers would not be allowed to speak in the House.