Punjab Assembly Winter Session from today

| | Chandigarh
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Punjab Assembly Winter Session from today

Thursday, 13 December 2018 | Monika Malik | Chandigarh

Punjab Vidhan Sabha’s three-day Winter Session, beginning from Thursday, is expected to be a cakewalk for the ruling Congress as the already miniscule-Opposition — comprising Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — is going through its worst ever political crisis.

While AAP has suspended two of its prominent MLAs — Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Kanwar Sandhu — having support of six other party legislators out of total 20, SAD leadership is facing protest by its taksali (traditional Akali) leaders who have been blaming the party for 2015 sacrilege cases and related firing incidents.

During the brief Session, comprising of total four sittings with the first day dedicated for the obituary references, will also pass a slew of significant bills, including the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Ordinance-2018 — a simplified version of GST.

During the previous Assembly Session, AAP was a divided house but Dakha MLA HS Phoolka played the role of a mediator between the two factions and managed to sail through the Session smoothly.

But, the division is now amply clear with Khaira and Sandhu suspended for anti-party activities. Moreover, Phoolka has also put in his papers member of Legislative Assembly — which is yet to be accepted by the Speaker, and had already made it clear that he would not attend the session.

It is to be seen how the AAP MLAs would raise the issues, concerning the people including that of school teachers’ regularisation, farmers’ situation, post-matric scholarship dues, among many others, amid infighting.

SAD, limited to just 18 seats after ruling the State for a decade, is facing a revolt by its old guard, including party veterans — sitting MP Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, former MP Rattan Singh Ajnala and former Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan — who had announced to float a “new Akali Dal”.

The trio, along with their sons, had been expelled from SAD’s primary membership recently, after they questioned the functioning of Sukhbir Badal, besides blaming them for causing irreparable damage to the party.

The party leader had openly lashed out at the Badals and Majithia for exploiting the state for their own petty interests, and even the Sikh institutions like Akal Takht and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for political gains. They has also blamed the party for the sacrilege and related firing incidents.

Amid all this, the SAD leadership, led by party patron and former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, offered prayers at the Akal Takht — Sikh’s supreme temporal body — to seek atonement for the “mistakes” it committed “inadvertently” in the past, without disclosing its details.

A resolution thanking the State, Centre and the Pakistan Government for opening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, is also expected to come up, and is likely to witness a heated debate over the credit war between SAD-BJP and the Congress.

Besides, the Cabinet has given its nod to enhance the parole for state prisoners by approving to amend Section 3 Sub Section 2 of the Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1962, and a Bill regarding the same would be tabled in the House.

The Bill proposed to increase the regular parole given to the prisoners with good conduct from the existing three weeks to four weeks, and a total parole from 12 weeks to 16 weeks during a calendar year.

The Assembly is also likely to pass the PunjabWater Resources (Management and Regulation) Bill that seeks to regulate the misuse of groundwater.

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