SAD, AAP slam Cong for 'curtailing' three-day Assembly session

Opposition parties SAD and AAP Thursday attacked the Congress for "curtailing" the three-day winter session of the Punjab Assembly, alleging the ruling party had made a mockery of democracy.

Both parties claimed that the Business Advisory Committee had recommended curtailing the session by one day, which meant the session would now be wrapped on December 14 instead of December 15.

"The Congress has played a cruel joke on the people and made a mockery of democracy by recommending the Winter Session be reduced to a single sitting, something which has happened for the first time in the history of the state," SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed in a statement here.

Punjab Assembly session had started Thursday with obituary references.

"This is unprecedented and has taken democratic norms to a new low. It amounts to cheating the people as well as muzzling their voice. Congress legislators should tell the people why they became party to this anti -people decision," Badal asked.

"As only obituary references were made today, one day is too less to take up people's issues as well as pass bills as scheduled," the SAD chief said.

Former finance minister and Akali leader Parminder Singh Dhindsa protested against the move in the meeting of the committee and demanded the session be extended by one week to discuss emergent issues of the state, he said.

Badal said they would take up the issue with the speaker Friday and demand that the session be extended appropriately. He claimed it seemed that the Congress government's "failure" on all fronts was behind the decision.

"The government does not want any discussion on farmer issues or promises made to the youth, discrimination against Dalits and government employees or destruction of peace and communal harmony in Punjab," he said.

AAP MLAs Aman Arora, Budhram, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Baljinder Kaur and others condemned the move of curtailing the session.

Arora said the session was curtailed because the Congress government was running away from discussing the burning issues of the state.

He accused Assembly Speaker Rana KP Singh of throwing rules pertaining to Assembly to the wind at the behest of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.