Assembly Speaker accepts MLA Phoolka’s resignation

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 9

Days after AAP MLA from Dakha HS Phoolka wrote to Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Rana KP Singh stating that he would have to move the Supreme Court if his resignation was not accepted, his resignation was today accepted by the Speaker.

This paves way for the byelection to the Dakha Assembly segment, along with that of Phagwara and Jalalabad Assembly segments that have fallen vacant after BJP’s Som Prakash and SAD’s Sukhbir Singh Badal, who were the MLAs from Phagwara and Jalalabad, respectively, were elected to the Lok Sabha from Hoshiarpur and Ferozepur, respectively, in the General Elections earlier this year.

The resignations of MLAs of Phagwara and Jalalabad have been accepted and the Election Commission has been intimated about it. Phoolka had resigned as MLA in October and had later met the Assembly Speaker urging him to accept his resignation.

Phoolka had stepped down to press for immediate action against those involved in desecrating Guru Granth Sahib in the state in 2015. While quitting as MLA, he had claimed the Congress government had not taken the desired action against those named in the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission’s report on sacrilege incidents.

Reacting to acceptance of the resignation, Punjab AAP chief and MP Bhagwant Mann said it was his personal decision while the party was never in agreement with the decision. He expressed his deep concern for the people of the constituency who were jiggered at the sudden development.

Mann accused the government and the Speaker of adopting double standards in terms of accepting resignations of AAP MLAs, adding that the Speaker had not been performing his constitutional obligations with the way he should.

Mann added that if the Speaker had not been adopting double standards, he would have simultaneously accepted the resignations of Mansa MLA Nazar Singh Manshahiya and Ropar MLA Amarjit Singh Sandoa as he did in the case of Phoolka.

Protesting sacrilege 

• HS Phoolka had stepped down to press for immediate action against those involved in desecrating Guru Granth Sahib in the state 
• He had claimed the Cong govt had not taken desired action against those named in the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission’s report on sacrilege incidents