Chandigarh: The first day of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha session on Thursday ended in just over nine minutes, with the Congress accusing the AAP govt of evading accountability on drugs and law and order.Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan adjourned the proceedings immediately after obituary references. The day’s listed business included 16 questions, three calling attention notices, papers to be laid on the table and three resolutions. The speaker announced that the questions would instead be taken up during Friday’s proceedings.The opposition, which was primed to corner the govt over drug menace and law and order issues, expressed strong displeasure over the swift adjournment. Speaker Sandhwan defended the decision by citing assembly tradition, stating he felt no further business should be conducted after paying tributes to slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota.Rejecting allegations that the move was intended to avoid embarrassment over the Jhota issue, Sandhwan maintained he had the authority under assembly rules to alter the schedule. He suggested the opposition could raise their concerns the following day, adding that he considered Jhota’s sacrifice significant.Challenging this stance, BJP MLA Ashwani Sharma asked, “If Jhota’s sacrifice was so significant, why did it take seven days to order a CBI inquiry? How can you justify setting aside the entire day’s business?”Before the session, Congress MLAs led by leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa burned an effigy of CM Bhagwant Mann outside the Vidhan Sabha, demanding his resignation over Jhota’s death.Bajwa accused the govt of running away from its responsibilities and accepting defeat. He claimed Congress had been demanding Mann’s resignation and held the CM directly responsible for Jhota’s demise.Bajwa alleged that the day’s non-official business was cancelled without taking the opposition into confidence. He termed the development the AAP govt’s first moral defeat in its five-year term, claiming that the defeat was evident on the faces of its leaders, ministers, and MLAs. “Law and order in Punjab has collapsed. No one’s life, business, work, or family is safe in this state,” Bajwa said.Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Pargat Singh also criticised the govt over the adjournment, alleging that instead of answering questions on crucial issues, including Jhota’s killing, the administration chose to evade accountability and flee the assembly.
