Punjab govt moves SC against Governor’s refusal to summon assembly for budget session

New Delhi, February 27

The Punjab Government has moved the Supreme Court against Governor Banwarilal Purohit’s refusal to grant permission to summon assembly for the budget session from March 3.

Purohit reportedly refused permission to the government to summon the Budget session till he had taken legal advice on the tweets and letter written by CM Bhagwant Mann.

Filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petition made Principal Secretary to the Governor of Punjab the first respondent, sources said.

The Punjab Government has contended that under the constitutional scheme, the Governor is bound to summon the assembly as per the aid and advice given to him by the elected government, they said, adding the petition was likely to be mentioned on Tuesday for urgent listing.

On Thursday, when the AAP government held its first Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit, the Governor sent a letter to the CM, saying he would decide whether to allow the Budget session on March 3, only after he had sought legal advice on the “extremely derogatory and patently constitutional tweets and letter” written by CM Mann in response to his letter sent earlier this month.

Announcing the decision to move the top court, Mann had said, “Glimpses of the world’s largest democracy… Go to Supreme Court to make mayor despite majority in Delhi… Go to the Supreme Court to make Deputy Mayor… The Punjab Vidhan Sabha has to go to the Supreme Court to conduct the Budget session… The search for democracy continues.”

Speaking at a function in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, the CM had on Sunday talked about the standoff with the Governor and alleged that Raj Bhawans were turning into BJP headquarters and that Governors acted as BJP’s star campaigners.

“In a democracy, elected persons take decisions and not those selected. We (AAP) know how to fight our battles and we cannot be intimidated by the ED or CBI,” he had said.