Punjab Assembly session begins tomorrow

CLP seeks appointment from governor ahead of the Assembly

Punjab Assembly will meet here tomorrow for a brief session which is likely to be a stormy affair as opposition Congress is set to corner the SAD-BJP government on several issues including alleged involvement of its minister in drug trade.

 

Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Sunil Jakhar had sought an appointment from governor Shivraj V Patil tomorrow ahead of the Assembly, seeking dismissal of cabinet minister Anil Joshi after the Election Commission of India (ECI) charged him with being enrolled as "dual voter".

 

Besides, Congress is also braced up to take on Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia for allegedly being protected by the state government after he was named by an arrested drug smuggler in a multi-crore synthetic drug case, Jakhar said.

 

"We want an answer from the Akali-BJP combine government on why it is shielding the minister (Majthia) and others after a drug smuggler had accused them of being involved in the trade," he said.

 

The session will begin with the governor's address and is likely to end on March 11 when vote-on-account for three months will be presented instead of the regular budget.

 

Jakhar said the governor should make it clear in his address on what action the state government has taken on Joshi and Majithia.

 

The Congress will also seek a white paper from the state government on the situation of the industries in Punjab.

 

"We want an answer from the government on how much employment it had generated in the past seven years," Jakhar said.

 

Besides, the Congress will rake up the issues of sand, gravel, unemployment, inspector raj, employment allowance and depleting water level in the state.

 

Meanwhile, SAD patron and leader of the House Parkash Singh Badal had summoned a meeting of SAD tomorrow to chalk out the floor strategy during the session.

 

Akali leaders claim that the treasury benches were fully geared up to take on Congress MLAs onslaught.

 

The treasury benches will list its developmental activities during the session, the Akalis said.