AAP seeks Opposition support over floods

Ruling AAP on Sunday sought the Opposition backing over the recent floods during the special Assembly session called to discuss relief measures, two days after both sides launched fiery attacks against each other during the first sitting of the House.

The demand drew a sharp retort from Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, who alleged that the government wanted their backing to corner the Centre while covering up its own failures.

Meanwhile, the BJP has decided to hold a “people’s assembly” near the party office in Chandigarh against the government.

The Assembly session, which started on Friday, had seen a heated debate between the treasury benches and the main Opposition Congress.

While CM Bhagwant Mann accused Opposition leaders of reducing the opportunity to mere a “platform from criticism”, the Congress sought details of the spending from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the sacking of Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal.

On Sunday, Minister for New and Renewable Energy Resources Aman Arora said all parties needed to “bury their differences” to work out a plan to tackle the challenges posed by recent floods.

Education Minister Harjot Bains said more than blame-game, the state immediately needed an expert committee to assess the capacity of dams, sedimentation levels and structural stress on reservoirs.

Reacting to it, Bajwa, who is also a senior Congress leader, accused the government of trying to cover up its failures.

“This session is only an attempt to make the Opposition blame the Centre for the floods and poor rehabilitation exercise. The exercise has neither the correct perspective in handling the current problem and nor any preparation for future,” he said.

He said the AAP government was trying to put the entire blame on the Centre-controlled Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) for “mishandling of riverwaters”.

“But the biggest challenge this time was posed by the Ravi waters, which are managed by the state government,” he said. State BJP working president Ashwani Sharma said their mock Assembly session on Monday would aim at making the government accountable, who he said was “responsible for the current situation”.

Resolutions to be taken up

1. To condemn the union Government for failing to announce a special financial package for flood-hit Punjab

2. To condemn the Prime Minister’s Office for not responding to Chief Minister’s repeated request for a meeting

3. To seek Rs 20,000 crore package to support farmers, rebuild ruined infrastructure and restore livelihoods

4. To demand for immediate transfer of Rs 1,600 crore