Chandigarh, August 22
An atmosphere of despair pervaded the last session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here today. Chaos and pandemonium prevailed throughout the sitting with the Speaker adjourning the House sine die ahead of time.
Members raised anti-government and anti-Speaker slogans and walked aimlessly in the aisles in complete disregard of decorum or respect for the Chair. They spoke out of turn. Most of what they said was ruled “off record”. Every speaker, whether from the Treasury or Opposition Benches, was interrupted and the proceedings disrupted with scant regard for the rulings of the Chair. Official files and copies of reports were thrown across the well. At least two members Mr Jagdish Sawhney (BJP) and Mr Shangara Ram Shangura (BSP) almost engaged in a scuffle.
Amidst unruly scenes, listed legislative business was also conducted with the House approving, by voice vote, ordinances, amendments and rules in respect of several papers laid on the table of the House. Nothing could be heard of what some members said in the din and the chorus of slogans.
The Bills passed were the Punjab Town Improvement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001, the Punjab Recruitment of Multipurpose Health Workers (Female) Ordinance, 2001, the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001 and the Punjab New Mandi Township (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance, 2001.
The House was adjourned for half an hour to restore order. But disorder continued till the Speaker, Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, finally stood up and adjourned the House sine die with the Congressmen’s slogans still reverberating.
This was the first sitting of the House after the all-India Presiding Officers’ Conference held some time ago. That occasion saw the transformation of the Vidhan Sabha complex, both interior as well as exterior. It was, perhaps, as a consequence of that renovation that the microphones in the Press Gallery, placed under the desks, did not function. The desklights were also missing. Therefore, most of what was spoken inside the House was inaudible in the Press Gallery.
There was trouble in the House from the word go. This was triggered the moment the House met at 10 am. The first to raise an issue and walk out even as the Speaker was calling out “question hour” was Mr Inderjit Singh Zira, rebel SAD member, who took cognisance of the fact that the already truncated session, slated for three days, had been further reduced to just one day. He was joined by several others.
The list of business under Rule 16 stated: “A Minister to move that the Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) at its rising this day shall stand adjourned sine die”.
Just as question hour, occasionally interrupted by members who were not allowed to put
supplementaries or who insisted on speaking out of turn, was coming to a close Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla (BJP) staged a walkout protesting against the Speaker’s “discriminatory attitude”. Several questions kicked up controversies with Opposition members out to draw blood.
Once the clock struck 11 a.m. signalling the end of question hour, the House was thrown into turmoil that remained unabated till it was adjourned sine die. The root cause of today’s tumultuous scenes and breakdown of House functioning can be traced to the issue of the sharing of river waters. Members wanted a full debate and the adoption of a resolution to “protect” the interests of Punjab. The Leader of the House, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had come fully prepared to speak and reply to every supplementary by any
member. On the other hand, the strident mood of the Opposition, led by the Congress, was well known. Enough hint of the gathering storm inside the House today was given at a news briefing after the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee general house had met here on Tuesday. “The waters issue will dominate the proceedings of the House as much as the Congress will make it an important poll issue.”
Sensing the attitude of the Opposition, the government was fully armed with information on the historical background, legal aspects, political bungling, the role of various commissions and other related issues, ranging from why and how of the SYL, sharing of river basin water and the latest amendments to the River Water Disputes Act, etc. After much cajoling and heckling, the Treasury Benches agreed to have a full debate on the subject on Thursday. The Speaker even moved an amendment withdrawing the sine-die motion listed for the day.
Just when normalcy seemed to be returning, the Congress, supported by the CPI, threw a spanner. It put a rider to the discussion on the waters issue saying the House should “withdraw” its resolution passed against the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, in the last session, wherein she was lambasted for calling Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee names. This, naturally, was unacceptable to the ruling outfit.
At one stage, when the House reassembled after a 30-minute adjournment, Mr Badal, who wanted to make a statement on the waters issue, was not allowed to speak. He was repeatedly interrupted in utter disregard of the House traditions and conventions of showing respect to the Leader of the House. He pleaded for rising above petty political considerations to be one on waters issue. He also put a rider while agreeing to tomorrow’s discussion. “Let no one interrupt when any member, particularly the Leader of the House or Opposition, stands up to speak. Let this be binding on moral and conscience grounds. I assure you of an interruption-free debate from my side. Will Chaudhary Jagjit Singh do the same?”
There were again noisy scenes as many members stood up speaking and gesticulating at the same time. Nothing was audible. It was in such a hopeless situation that Mr Badal was seen leaving the House. The Vidhan Sabha Secretary moved across the House consulting the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the Speaker as Congress members trooped into the well raising slogans. They remained there till the end. Mr Badal spared time to come to the Press lounge to share his “anguish,” blaming the Congress for the “watery grave” it had dug for Punjab. He accused the Congress of not wanting a healthy debate on the subject inside the House. Its only aim was to play to the gallery, having lost patience to hear the truth. To hide its own acts of omission and commission, the Congress was stalling the proceedings of the House. “Who is not familiar with who did what or which party played what role when, how and why over the waters issue? The Akalis have struggled and sacrificed, while the Congress has withdrawn cases from courts and bartered away the interests of the state for political exigencies”, he added.
“Water is the lifeline of Punjab. It sustains our economy. Even the British had recognised this right of ownership of Punjab on rivers. We used to be paid for the use of our water by others. Even riparian laws recognise such a right. There is no question of the control of headworks being usurped by the Centre. We will not part with even a drop of water. I can say with full responsibility that the SAD is committed to protecting Punjab rivers. One should not get panicky over the amendments to the River Water Disputes Act. Nothing is dearer to me than water for Punjab. The Congress has no love for Punjab; hence the decades of discrimination against the state and its people by successive Congress governments at the Centre”.
Thus, as the Vidhan Sabha stands adjourned sine die awaiting the new government, the focus will now shift outside the House to the electoral battlefield.
