AAP legislators stage walkout from Punjab Assembly

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators today walked out of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to protest the rejection of a bill on conflict of interest by the speaker.

AAP MLA Aman Arora had submitted 'The Punjab Unseating of Members of Legislative Assembly found indulging in Conflict of Interest Bill, 2018' in the House which was rejected by Speaker Rana K P Singh.

Under the proposed bill, any elected representative, be it the chief minister, cabinet ministers or other MLAs, shall be liable for disqualification and hence unseated within a period of six months if found guilty of the Conflict of Interest Act. Any MLA found furthering his own private interests, financial or commercial, directly or indirectly, at the cost of interest of the state shall be unseated, Arora told mediapersons outside the Assembly.

Arora contended that mafias like those of mining, liquor, transport, cable, power, irrigation, construction and real estate would never have come into existence had this law been in place.

He questioned the government for not taking any step toward this direction, saying contrary to its other pre-election promises, this Act would not entail any financial expenditure and would be useful in preventing loot by corrupt politicians.

Arora expressed displeasure in the way politicians have "flourished over the years, pushing the state into a debt trap of more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore today".

For this purpose, Arora had suggested forming a five-member commission, headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a high court, comprising members of eminence from the fields of law, economics, journalism, defence, education, health, etc.

He had proposed that a five-member select committee be constituted, comprising the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the second senior most judge of the high court, the chief minister, the speaker and the leader of opposition, to appoint the members to the commission for a period of six years.