Sidhu, Majithia exchange words over drugs as Assembly session begins

Ruchika Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

There was pandemonium in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday as Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Akali leader Bikram Majithia exchanged barbs over the drug issue.                       

Sidhu screamed at the Akalis, saying they were ‘Banaras de thug’ (impostors).

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As the Assembly Session began on Wednesday, the House paid homage to 15 people.

The Punjab Law Officers (Engagement) Bill, 2017, is to be tabled in the House.

Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal presented vote on account of Rs 29,389 crore for expenditure for three months of the next fiscal, beginning April 1.

The appointment of advisers/OSDs in the Congress government and the proposal to bring in a legislation for appointing chief parliamentary secretaries rocked the House as AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said these were a burden on the state exchequer. He raised the issue that the supplementary grants for 2016-17 had already crossed Rs 25,000 crore.                       

Speaker Rana KP refused to record any comment made by the Bains brothers of the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), as they had refused to sit on the allotted seats.                       

Also, AAP MLAs protested against the LIP MLAs being given seats away from the AAP MLAs.                       

AAP and LIP MLAs moved into the well of the House to protest against the Bains brothers not being allowed to speak.

There were differences between Khaira and Leader of Opposition HS Phoolka as Khaira led the AAP and LIP MLAs to protest as they sat in the well of the House. Phoolka, on the other hand, continued to sit on his seat.                       

The protesting MLAs shouted slogans against the Speaker.

The Vidhan Sabha session was later adjourned sine die as protesting MLAs raised slogans and finally got up to leave.