All Commission reports to be tabled in House: Punjab CM

The Punjab government will table all reports of the commissions set up by it in the state Assembly, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announced today.

He was replying to a query raised by Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira during MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa's speech on the motion of thanks on the address of the governor.

Talking to reporters later, Amarinder Singh said the Justice (Retd) Narang Commission report was ready to be presented in the House during the current Budget Session.

The reports of the Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commision and Justice (Retd) Mehtab Singh Commission would be tabled in the Assembly once they are finalised, he said.

The Narang Commission was set up to probe illegal sand mining while the Ranjit Singh Commission and the Mehtab Singh Commission were tasked with investigating cases of sacrilege and the false cases registered during the SAD-BJP regime respectively.

The issue of cases of sacrilege figured prominently in the House as Congress MLAs, joined by the main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), cornered the Akalis over this issue and those of drugs and lawlessness.

Sukhpal Khaira supported the efforts of the government to investigate the allegations against the former SAD-BJP government and its endeavour to bring the guilty to book.

While speaking on the motion of thanks on the governor's address, MLA Dera Baba Nanak Sukhjinder Randhawa lashed out at the Akalis and said the incidents of religious sacrilege had deeply hurt the feelings of Punjabis across the world.

He accused the Akalis of engineering the sacrilege incidents to divert attention from their growing failures at that time.

Randhawa also hit out at the Akalis for continuing to be a part of the BJP government at the Centre, alleging that the latter had been continuously ignoring the farming community's interests.

He alleged that the Akalis claimed to be champions of the farmers' cause but had never done anything to safeguard their interests.

Alleging that the Badals bartered the interests of the state to secure a Cabinet berth for a family member, he said the people of Punjab would never forgive the Akalis for destroying the state's pride.

Had they been committed to the cause of farmers, they would have prevailed upon the Centre to get some liberal package for them, he added.

He said the current session would expose the alleged misdeeds of the Akalis.

Speaking on the motion, MLA Gidderbaha Raja Warring lauded Amarinder Singh for fulfilling his promise of waiving farmers' debt despite the state's poor financial health.

He also congratulated the chief minister for the improved law and order situation in the state. Warring said not only had the drugs menace been significantly controlled but the affected youths were being successfully rehabilitated.