AAP govt looks to revive Vidhan Parishad in Punjab

Chandigarh, September 5

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is all set to revive the Upper House (State Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad) in the state. It will have minimum 40 members.

Indications about the state government bringing a resolution for the reconstitution of the Vidhan Parishad were given by CM Bhagwant Mann yesterday when he said his government was mulling the proposal and a legal opinion was being sought on the issue.

Sources in the CM’s Office told The Tribune that discussions on the issue had been initiated. “If approved, Punjab will become the seventh state in the country to have a Vidhan Parishad, after Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,” they said.

The ruling party could bring a resolution in this regard in the next session of the Vidhan Sabha. The resolution would have to be passed by two-thirds majority of the members present and voting in the Vidhan Sabha. The resolution would then be sent to Parliament for approval.

The Punjab state legislature had been a bicameral House till December 1969. Initially, it had 51 members and after the re-organisation of states in 1966, the members were reduced to 40. The Vidhan Parishad was abolished on January 1, 1970, by bringing in the Punjab Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1969. Justice Gurnam Singh-led Akali Dal-Jan Sangh government was in power in the state at that time.

At that time, the Congress had a majority in the Upper House and it would often disrupt its proceedings. Former minister Madan Mohan Mittal, who was a Jan Sangh MLA at that time, told The Tribune that the reason behind abolishing the Vidhan Parishad was that it had become a “white elephant”. Inquiries made by The Tribune show that the total expenditure of the Vidhan Parishad at that time was around Rs 8 lakh per annum.

May bring resolution in next session

• The ruling party may bring a resolution in this regard in the next session of the Vidhan Sabha
• The resolution will have to be passed by the two-thirds majority of the members present and voting in the Vidhan Sabha
• It will then be sent to Parliament for approval