Punjab Budget Session: Uproar in Assembly over police assault, farmers’ agitation
During the Zero Hour of the Punjab Budget Session, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa demanded the immediate transfer of SSP Patiala Nanak Singh for protecting police officers who assaulted a serving Colonel and his son in Patiala on March 13. Bajwa sought exemplary punishments for the erring police officers and a judicial probe by a sitting or retired judge into the incident.
Bajwa condemned the incident, emphasising that it was particularly disturbing in a Sikh-majority state. The session took a dramatic turn when Congress MLA Pargat Singh alleged that AAP leaders, including Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, had implied that the farmers’ agitation had led to an increase in the drug menace.
AAP MLAs and the Speaker strongly objected to the allegation, terming it baseless. Pargat Singh further argued that AAP was creating economic losses for the state by blaming the farmers’ agitation. He attributed Punjab’s losses to Haryana’s blocking of the highway and accused AAP of shaming farmers at the behest of BJP to polarise the border state.
