The stand-off between the Punjab government and the state Congress party continued on Tuesday with the state police preventing senior Congress leaders from reaching the Assembly in support of the 27 party legislators who had stayed inside the Vidhan Soudha on Monday, according to media reports.
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Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu said about 23 legislators are still inside the Assembly after the no-confidence motion moved by Congress yesterday was defeated. Despite the security personnel restricting the entry, Warring and Randhawa managed to bring two MLAs, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Balbir Singh Sidhu, into the Assembly complex.
Bhattal said not allowing Congress MLAs to enter the House was a “murder of democracy”.
After the assembly was adjoured on Monday evening, the Congress MLAs, including four women legislators, refused to vacate the premises and insisted on staging a protest till assembly resumes on Wednesday.
He said the legislators spent the night inside the house to lodge their protest despite the electricity supply being disconnected.
The assembly is not in session today on account of Id-ul-Zuha.
The 27 Congress MLAs slept on the floor of the Punjab Assembly.
Referring to the issue of former CPS and BJP MLA from Amritsar Doctor Navjot Kaur Siddhu, Kalia said that she is nice lady and loyal party worker who obeyed the instructions of the chief whip of the party to be present during discussion on the no confidence motion of the congress.
A no-confidence motion against the state government was moved on several ground including “failure of the state government to protect the interests of Punjab on the Sutlej Yamuna Link canal issue, deteriorating law and order situation in the state, emergence of mafia groups, rampant corruption, deteriorating fiscal position of the state and failure in apprehending culprits behind the Bargari sacrilege case”.
The protesters included four women legislators.
“Our fight is for the people of Punjab”.
“The “sit in” protest by the party MLAs in the Assembly hall that started on Monday evening would continue till Wednesday”, Punjab Congress Legislature Party leader Charanjit Singh Channi said on Tuesday.
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“We couldn’t have left the Assembly with the legislators still inside”, a House secretariat employee said. Our demand is that we should be allowed to speak. “We are elected representatives of people but this is no way to behave with us”, he said.
