SAD-BJP MLAs stage walkout from Punjab Assembly over sacrilege cases

Members of the SAD and the BJP on Monday staged a walkout of the House after their adjournment motion, seeking the Supreme Court monitored probe into 2015 sacrilege incidents, was rejected by the Punjab Assembly Speaker.

All the legislators of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were on their feet when Speaker Rana KP Singh rejected their demand after the Question Hour on the second day of Punjab Vidhan Sabha here.

Leading the charge, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, who is the leader of SAD's legislative party in the Punjab Assembly, sought to know reason from the Speaker about rejection of their motion. The Speaker claimed that he did not receive their notice for adjournment motion as per the rules of the House.

Though SAD-BJP members claimed they timely gave their notice, Speaker did not allow their plea, amid the din.

Members of opposition party rushed to the Well of the House and raised slogans for not allowing them to raise their issue.

Heated exchange of words also took place between SAD-BJP members and AAP MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan during the calling attention notices.

Thereafter, the SAD-BJP legislators staged a walk out of the House.

Talking to media later at the press lounge, SAD leaders Bikram Singh Majithia and Dhindsa lashed out at Congress led government, accusing it of running away from a Supreme Court monitored probe into cases of 2015 sacrilege incidents.

"Speaker Rana K P Singh rejected the adjournment motion despite the fact that it was delivered to his office by SAD president's Political Secretary Charanjit Singh Brar well before the two hour deadline for submission of the same. Moreover, the resolution was delivered to the Speaker after the assembly Secretary advised the same," they said.

Dhindsa and Majithia said the very fact that the Congress party was running away from discussion on the most sensitive issue of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib indicated that it did not want the truth to come out and did not want justice to be delivered in the case.

The SAD leaders alleged the AAP had openly sided with the Congress party while opposing discussion on the adjournment motion.

"It was now clear to the Punjabis that AAP was in fact a 'Chhoti Congress' which was being dictated and directed by the 'Waddi Congress' (Congress party). Both parties are now in cahoots with each other and are playing a fixed match," they said.

"We only wanted a discussion on the issue so that the assembly could unanimously pass the resolution ensuring a Supreme Court monitored probe into the sacrilege incidents. We fail to understand why discussion could not be held on such an important issue," they said.

Meanwhile, the SAD condemned the state government for naming the upcoming sports university at Patiala after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's grandfather.

The Punjab Assembly passed the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University Bill, 2019.

The legislative wing of the SAD said it was shocking that the Congress party passed the entire legislative business of the Vidhan Sabha in a few minutes without making prior copies of the bills available to the legislators to avoid any discussion on the same.

"This is a serious lapse of parliamentary procedure," an official release here said.

The legislative wing also noted that the Congress government had "ridden roughshod over the sentiments of the people" and refused to consider demands for naming the sports university in memory of 'Chhote Sahibzade'-Baba Zoravar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh, sons of Guru Gobind Singh.