Oppn creates ruckus in Punjab assembly, forces four adjournments over DGP remarks

The Opposition on Monday created ruckus in the Punjab assembly, targeting the government over police chief Dinkar Gupta's purported remarks on the Kartarpur corridor's propensity to be misused for terror training and seeking his removal. The Opposition, comprising the AAP, SAD and BJP members, triggered pandemonium in the House by repeatedly storming its Well and jostling with marshals, who prevented them from going to the chair.

The Opposition MLAS also allegedly tampered with the sound system of assembly's official reporters, leading to four adjournments of the House. The Opposition gave vent to their anger, seeking the government's explanation over DGP Gupta's purported remarks to a newspaper that Kartarpur corridor was prone to be misused by Pakistan for imparting terror training to common men during their short stay across the border on their visits to the Sikh shrine.

The Opposition members also raked up the allegation of a suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police Balwinder Singh Sekhon that Punjab minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu had “confessed to have harboured” two militants in early 1990s. While DGP Gupta had regretted making the remark, Minister Ashu had trashed the DySP's allegations.

When the Question Hour began on the second day of the budget session here, Leader of Opposition and AAP MLA Harpal Singh Cheema stood up, raking the DGP's purported statement, while Akali leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon tried to speak about the DySP's allegations against the Punjab minister. “There is a deep rooted controversy behind DGP's statement,” said Cheema.

When the speaker asked the protesting members to let the House function, the Opposition legislators refused to listen and rushed to the Well of the House, raising slogans against the government and waiving placards and pictures of DGP Gupta and minister Ashu. The AAP and SAD members even tore some papers and jostled with the watch and ward staff in a bid to break the cordon thrown in front of the speaker's chair.

As Opposition members refused to relent, Speaker K P Singh Rana adjourned the House for half an hour. Even as the Opposition created ruckus, two Congress MLAs Kulbir Singh Zira and Rana Gurjit Singh at one point were seen making heated exchanges among themselves for not countering the Akali Dal members, exposing the lack of coordination among party MLAs.

To make up for the lack of coordination among them, the treasury benches swiftly resorted to waiving photographs of Akali MLA Bikram Singh Majithia with Anwar Masih, an accused in Amritsar heroin seizure case, but their spectacles were lost in the pandemonium. As the House assembled after the first adjournment, Speaker Rana sought to reason with the Opposition that Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, holding the Home ministry's portfolio, was not in the House and he would make statements on both issues on Tuesday.

But with the Opposition refusing to see reason, the speaker adjourned the House for a second time. The Opposition's fury refused to abate even after the House reassembled for the third time, leading the speaker to adjourn it again.

Before adjourning the House for the third time, Speaker Rana named all the SAD and AAP members, except the two of the BJP, as those who tampered with the assembly's reporters sound system and said "it is unacceptable". Before the fourth and final adjournment of the House for the day, the assembly underwent three adjournments for half and hour twice and for 15 minutes on the third occasion.

The speaker finally adjourned the House for the day after state ministers Charanjit Singh Channi and Brahm Mohindra asked him to let off the opposition with a warning. DGP Gupta had purportedly told a newspaper that "Kartarpur offers a potential that you send somebody in the morning as an ordinary chap and by evening he comes back as trained terrorist actually. You are there for six hours, you can be taken to a firing range, you can be taught to make an IED".

Amid the pandemonium in the House, fissures were visible in the AAP ranks as its four MLAs -- Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Kanwar Sandhu, Pirmal Singh Khalsa and Jagdev Singh Kamalu -- avoided joining the demonstration. Rebel AAP MLA Khaira, who was abstaining from the assembly sittings since his expulsion from the party last year, however, attended the House on Sunday.

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(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)