PHAGWARA: Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Congress MLA, today launched a scathing attack on the Bhagwant Mann led AAP government for systematically destroying the constitutional and democratic significance of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha by replacing full fledged Budget, Monsoon and Winter Sessions with meaningless one day sittings.
Khaira said that the Vidhan Sabha, which is meant to be the highest forum for debate, accountability and legislative scrutiny, has been deliberately reduced to a ceremonial rubber stamp by drastically curtailing the number of annual sittings. “These token sessions leave absolutely no scope for serious discussion, legislative oversight or holding the government accountable, ” he said.
The Congress MLA pointed out that elected representatives have been denied their fundamental democratic right to raise constituency specific issues as these short sessions do not even provide for a Question Hour. “When there is no Question Hour, there is no accountability. This is a calculated attempt to silence people’s representatives, ” Khaira asserted.
Khaira further accused the government of stifling opposition voices with the active complicity of a partisan Speaker, who routinely gags opposition MLAs and disallows legitimate interventions. “The so called live telecast of the Assembly proceedings is nothing but a farce, as opposition voices are frequently blacked out, selectively muted or deliberately ignored, ” he said.
Taking a direct swipe at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Khaira said that the Vidhan Sabha has been converted into a theatre of mockery, where the Chief Minister indulges in making fun of opposition leaders and cracking low level jokes instead of engaging in serious, issue based debates that Punjab desperately needs.