CM Mann holds meeting of AAP legislators after special Punjab assembly session cancelled

A meeting of AAP legislators chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is here underway on Thursday to discuss the next strategy after the governor cancelled the special session of the state assembly called to bring a confidence motion.

AAP legislators on Thursday morning reached the assembly complex for the meeting.

A meeting of the Punjab Cabinet has also been called after the MLAs meeting, party sources said.

Later, a march will also be taken out by the AAP legislators here, they said.

AAP MLA Dinesh Chadha said the next strategy will be decided at the meeting.

Another AAP MLA and senior leader Baljinder Kaur dubbed the governor's move of withdrawing his earlier order calling the special session as a ''mockery of democracy''.

In an embarrassment to the AAP government in Punjab, Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday thwarted the Bhagwant Mann-led regime's plan to summon a special assembly session to bring a confidence motion.

The governor withdrew an earlier order calling the special session on Thursday, saying it had sought legal opinion after the Congress and the BJP approached the Raj Bhavan arguing that the House rules did not allow it.

While AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and the Punjab chief minister slammed the governor for not allowing the assembly session, saying it raises a big question on the country's democracy, the opposition parties hailed Purohit for preventing the Mann government from "sabotaging the constitutional and legislative practices and procedures." The AAP government in Punjab had sought the session to bring a confidence motion, days after it accused the BJP of trying to topple its government.

The AAP had recently claimed that at least 10 of its MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of Rs 25 crore to each of them in a bid to topple the six-month-old government under its 'Operation Lotus.'

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