Punjab Assembly speaker expresses displeasure over absence of two ministers during Question Hour

Chandigarh, March 6

Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Monday expressed his displeasure over the absence of two ministers during the Question Hour in the House and asked the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to ensure that either the minister concerned remained present or another minister was authorized for a reply.

During the question hour on the second day of the budget session, Higher Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains and Defence Services Welfare Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra were not in the House when questions related to their departments were taken up.

The speaker later asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar that ministers should remain present in the House especially during the question hour.

“If any minister is not in the House for any reason, then some other minister be authorized (for a reply) so that the sanctity of the question hour is maintained,” the speaker said.

Nijjar said the ministers will be given instructions in this regard.

Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar also came late during the question hour and replied to the question which was earlier not answered.

Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh slammed previous governments for not ensuring the post graduate medical students serve in government hospitals and not forfeiting the Rs 15 lakh bond amount.

Singh was reacting after Congress MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring raised the issue of shortage of doctors in a Gidderbaha hospital.

Every year 400 post graduate medical students complete their degrees from three government hospitals and undertake that they would serve for two years in government hospitals under the bond policy, said the health minister.

He said the AAP government has recovered Rs 6 crore from some medical students for not adhering to the bond policy. The government is also ensuring that the students will work in government hospitals as per the bond policy, he said.

Later, during the zero hour, Congress’ Warring slammed the AAP government over the issue of alleged deteriorating law and order situation, claiming that people were “worried” about the same.

“Murders are taking place in broad daylight. People of Punjab are concerned about the same. The situation has turned worse,” he said while raising the issue of law and order during the zero hour.

Warring was wearing a t-shirt with news cuttings related to law and order printed on it.   

He said the state government has been claiming that peace and harmony would be maintained in the state but the situation has worsened in the last one year.

Referring to the Ajnala incident, Warring claimed that it had happened for the first time in 40 years that a police station was “captured.” He said even as many days have passed since the incident, no action is taken yet by the state government.

Last month, radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, barged into Ajnala police station on the outskirts of Amritsar, extracting an assurance from the police that kidnapping case accused Lovepreet Singh will be released.

During an incident last week, six policemen, including former Indian hockey player and now Superintendent of Police Jugraj Singh, suffered injuries.