Ruckus in Punjab Assembly over law & order

Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Punjab Assembly on Friday as the opposition Congress moved an adjournment motion seeking a discussion on law and order, a demand which was rejected.

The Congress members rushed to the well of the House and raised slogans.

Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said the opposition's adjournment motion was rejected on the grounds that the "matter is sub-judice".

"How can entire law and order issue be sub-judice, one or two or few cases may be sub-judice," argued Bajwa, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

Pointing to the killing of Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala last month, he said there has been many incidents to show that the law and order situation is bad.

He insisted that Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan should fix time and allow a discussion on it.

The Speaker responded by saying that ample time will be given to the members during the the budget session at an appropriate time.

Congress members also protested that they wanted to raise "burning issues" during the zero hour but were not allowed.

As the party members rushed to the well of the House, they were joined by BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal and lone Bahujan Samaj Party members.

Later, the Congress members also staged a brief walkout.

Bajwa also wanted that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who was present in the House at that time, should clarify "his video statement that his life was in danger".

"Can there be anything more important if the head of a state says his life is in danger. We are very concerned. We would not have sought this discussion on the law and order situation had the chief minister not said in a video during the Sangrur bypolls campaigning that his life was in danger," he said.

Later, the Speaker said that the chief minister will respond to this on Saturday.

Bajwa claimed that politicians, commission agents, businessmen among others were getting threat calls.

"Our former deputy chief minister O P Soni has also received a threat call and has given a police complaint in this regard," he said.

On the Speaker saying that being a senior and experienced member the Congress leader should cooperate, Bajwa responded, "What good will the experience be if I am shot in the evening...everyone's life is important, we are concerned about the safety of all."

Moving the motion of thanks and initiating discussion on the Governor's Address, AAP senior leader Aman Arora took on the previous regimes for allegedly patronising the gangsters.

While referring to opposition having raked up the law and order issue, he said it needs to be seen from a wider perspective.

He said the three-month-old Bhagwant Mann-led government was doing its best to set right the wrongs done in the past.

Intervening in the discussion, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said Moosewala and many others' security was curtailed and the details were made public.

This murder could have been prevented if the threat, which he was already facing, taken seriously by the government, said Warring.

"During the past 90 days, 70 lives have been lost, that is why we are saying detailed discussion on law and order is needed," he said.

Aman Arora said according to the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of heinous crimes in the state have come down this year.

Taking part in the discussion on the Governor's Address, Bajwa said Punjab has passed through difficult times in 1980s and 1990s.

"We need to take law and order issue seriously," said Bajwa.

Referring to Punjab Police investigations in the Moosewala killing case, Bajwa questioned "how had (gangster) Lawrence Bishnoi (the alleged mastermind in the case) used mobile phone in the Tihar jail."