AAP feels the heat from its own, Oppn over range of issues

Chandigarh, September 2

Punjab legislators, cutting across party lines, today spoke about corruption, illegal mining, precarious law and order situation, deteriorating environment and the government’s inability to grant prosecution sanction for trying the Dera Sacha Sauda head in sacrilege cases.

Besides Opposition MLAs, legislators on the treasury benches also raised various issues against their own party government. While Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh raised the issue of “mafia controlling the government”, AAP MLA Dr Ajay Gupta raised the issue of poor sanitation facilities in his constituency. Kuljit Singh Randhawa, also from the ruling party, said it was high time that a good transport policy was brought by the government.

From the Opposition side, Partap Singh Bajwa lead the charge against the government on deteriorating law and order condition, charges levelled by a jail superintendent about gangsters running the show; and the government shying away from answering questions by convening a short session of the Assembly.

Pargat Singh vociferously raised the issue of illegal mining damaging the state ecology. “You have decided to make Jalandhar your second home. Please come and see how 70-foot deep pits have been dug by those indulging in illegal sand mining. Time does not stop for anyone. It is ticking for your government too. Police and mining department officials are involved,” he said.

Earlier, Manpreet Singh Ayali of the SAD also spoke about pollution in Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana. He was, however, snubbed by Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, who reminded Ayali that a Vidhan Sabha committee was looking into the matter and that Ayali was himself a member of that panel.

Responding to environmental concerns, CM Bhagwant Mann said he was always concerned about such issues.

The session began today with obituary references, with the House paying respects to former Speaker Surjit Singh Minhas, former ministers Sukhdev Singh Dhillon and Surjit Singh Kohli, former MPs Kamal Chaudhry and Sabha Gurcharan Kaur, former MLA Dhanwant Singh, freedom fighters Sardool Singh, Kashmir Singh, Gurdev Singh and Jagdish Prasad, eminent writer and poet Dr Surjit Patar, founder of Spokesman newspaper Joginder Singh and Editor of Pehredar Jaspal Singh Heran, along with Jasbir Kaur Lally and Sharanjit Singh Mann, mother and husband, respectively, of Nakodar MLA Inderjit Kaur Mann.