Winter session of Punjab Assembly to begin tomorrow

The brief three-day winter session of the Punjab Assembly will begin here on Thursday.

The ruling Congress is expected to bat on a comfortable wicket, using the 'divided' opposition to its advantage.

The main opposition Aam Aadmi Party's state unit is facing infighting ever since Bolath MLA Sukhpal Khaira was removed from the post of Leader of Opposition.

Khaira is leading a group of eight dissident legislators who had revolted against the party after he was removed from the post. Thereafter, they set up a parallel ad hoc political affairs committee.

The rebel group has been seeking autonomy for the state unit, which they say was being controlled by the Delhi leadership.

The other opposition party -- Shiromani Akali Dal -- is also going through a rough patch. Several of its Taksali (old guard) leaders, including Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Rattan Singh Ajnala and Sewa Singh Sekhwan, who had been expelled from the primary membership of the Akali Dal recently, had blamed the party's leadership for causing irreparable damage to the party.

Besides, SAD leadership, led by party patron Parkash Singh Badal, had recently offered prayers at the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal body of the Sikhs, to seek atonement for the "mistakes" it committed "inadvertently" in the past and the Congress may train guns at them on this issue.

Chief minister Amarinder Singh had ridiculed the party for indulging in "political theatrics" in the name of religion with their "farcical" display of regret over the "misdeeds" committed during their 10-years of misrule.

After the Punjab Cabinet gave its nod to amend Section 3 Sub Section 2 of the Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1962, to increase the regular parole given to the prisoners with good conduct from the existing three weeks to four weeks, and a total parole from 12 weeks to 16 weeks during a calendar year, a Bill in this regard will be tabled.

The assembly is likely to pass the Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Bill that seeks to regulate the misuse of groundwater.

The session will begin with the first sitting on Thursday concluding with obituary references, while Friday will have two sittings of the House.