Mann’s suggestion to lock up opposition MLAs sparks uproar
As Bajwa and Mann sparred, the Speaker said the issue of putting a lock on the door of the House was symbolic so that the discussion can take place in the House
Unruly scenes erupted in the Punjab Assembly on Monday after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann handed over a lock and key to the Speaker and urged him to lock the opposition members in the House so that they do not walk out during a discussion.
Mann, on the second day of the Budget session, slammed opposition MLAs for disrupting the Governor's address on the opening day of the Budget session on March 1 and demanded a discussion in the House.
Lock and key
Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, on the request of AAP MLAs, allowed the discussion on the disruption of the Governor's address in a departure from the practice of taking up 'Question Hour' and 'Zero Hour' at the start of a session.
Before the discussion commenced, Mann gave the Speaker an envelope containing a "lock and key", asking him to get the door of the House locked from inside so that the opposition members do not leave during the discussion.
"I will speak the truth and they will not tolerate it. Put a lock so that they do not run away," Mann told the Speaker.
Verbal exchanges
Leader of Opposition and Congress member Partap Singh Bajwa told Mann that they would not run away. Mann kept asserting that the opposition MLAs would leave, triggering a heated argument between the two.
As Bajwa and Mann sparred, the Speaker said the issue of putting a lock on the door of the House was symbolic so that the discussion can take place in the House.
The treasury benches and Congress MLAs also had a heated exchange, following which the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes.
Pandemonium in House
When the House was adjourned, the AAP members rushed towards the opposition benches after Bajwa made some remark and the verbal exchange stopped short of turning physical.
The heated exchanges between some AAP and the Congress legislators continued even as some other MLAs from both parties tried to intervene to calm the situation.
Governor disrupted
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit's address to the Assembly on March 1 was disrupted by Congress MLAs, who raised the issues of the protesting farmers.
Amid the uproar, Purohit had cut short his address. He read out a few lines and told the House that the rest of it be deemed as read.
(With agency inputs)