Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly india<br />
August 02, 2019 | Toronto<br />
09<br />
CBI move set to trigger hot<br />
spell in monsoon session<br />
Chandigarh: <strong>The</strong> monsoon session of<br />
Punjab assembly, which will start on Friday,<br />
is likely to raise political heat in the<br />
state with the opposition parties planning<br />
to corner the treasury benches on issues<br />
such as CBI closure report in Bargari case<br />
and ‘exorbitant’ power tariffs in the state.<br />
At the same time, there is still suspense<br />
over whether former cabinet minister<br />
Navjot Singh Sidhu will attend the<br />
session, apart from the four former AAP<br />
MLAs who have resigned from the party<br />
to join the Congress or the newly-floated<br />
Punjabi Ekta Party (PEP).<br />
“Even though Sidhu has been active in<br />
his constituency Amritsar East ever since<br />
his resignation was accepted last month,<br />
he has not been seen around in Chandigarh.<br />
It is still not clear whether he will<br />
be comfortable attending the assembly<br />
session. If he does, the leadership is not<br />
sure whether he will toe the party line on<br />
contentious issues such as sacrilege and<br />
those pertaining to the portfolio of local<br />
Pargat meets Sidhu,<br />
efforts on to get him<br />
to attend session<br />
Amritsar: Ahead of the fiveday monsoon session of<br />
Punjab Vidhan Sabha from August 2, Congress MLA<br />
from Jalandhar Cantt Pargat Singh held an hour-long<br />
closed-door meeting with former cabinet minister Navjot<br />
Singh Sidhu at his residence on Wednesday.<br />
Sources said Sidhu’s office staff and security personnel<br />
were asked to leave before the meeting. “Efforts are<br />
being made to ensure that Sidhu not only attends the<br />
monsoon session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, but also supports<br />
the cabinet decisions,” sources added.<br />
Among other decisions, the cabinet has decided to<br />
name the proposed Punjab sports university as Maharaja<br />
Bhupinder Singh Sports and Science University after<br />
the grandfather of chief minister Captain Amarinder<br />
Singh.<br />
Former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh and<br />
Sidhu go back a long way. Pargat was part of Awaaz-e-<br />
Punjab, an outfit floated by Sidhu in 2016 after quitting<br />
the BJP. Pargat, who was in Shiromani Akali Dal earlier,<br />
also joined the Congress with Sidhu.<br />
Sources also said Congress party wanted to ascertain<br />
if Sidhu was thinking of going to BJP as claimed by<br />
BJP leader Harjit Singh Garewal in the recent past. <strong>The</strong><br />
latter had also hinted that Sidhu had met a senior BJP<br />
leader, too, but this was denied by the saffron party.<br />
Sidhu, an MLA from Amritsar East, was given power,<br />
new, and renewable energy resources portfolio after<br />
a cabinet reshuffle in June, following which he sent<br />
his resignation from the cabinet to the CM on July 15,<br />
which was accepted by him some days later.<br />
Soon after this, on July 27, Congress MLA from Amritsar<br />
West Dr Rajkumar Verka had visited Sidhu’s<br />
place for a “courtesy meeting”. He was the first senior<br />
Congress leader who went to meet Sidhu after the latter<br />
resigned from the cabinet following differences with<br />
Amarinder.<br />
Sidhu was not available for comments. However,<br />
when contacted, Pargat Singh admitted having met<br />
Sidhu at his residence. “I was on a personal visit to Amritsar<br />
and went to have a cup of tea with Sidhu,” said<br />
Pargat, adding that nothing political was discussed.<br />
bodies that he last held,” said a Congress<br />
leader.<br />
Leader of Opposition (LoP) Harpal<br />
Singh Cheema said the CBI closure report<br />
was indicative of collusion between the<br />
Congress and Akalis and the issue would<br />
be raised aggressively on the floor of the<br />
House by AAP. In addition, AAP has also<br />
been running a campaign ‘Bijli Andolan’<br />
against “inflated power bills in the state”<br />
and would highlight the issue in the<br />
House.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re will be legislative business on<br />
only two days – Monday and Tuesday, and<br />
the state government plans to table the<br />
legislation regarding setting up of Punjab<br />
sports university in Patiala, besides other<br />
bills.<br />
Despite demands from both AAP and<br />
SAD, the session will effectively be of only<br />
three days. Speaker Rana KP Singh said<br />
that the number of sittings depends on the<br />
volume of work and it is up to the business<br />
advisory committee to take a call on<br />
the issue.<br />
Even though two AAP MLAs have<br />
joined the Congress, their resignations<br />
have still not been accepted and they can<br />
technically attend the assembly session.<br />
Similarly, resignation of former AAP<br />
leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira has not been<br />
accepted.
Change language