Assembly session cut short, Mann says will move SC against Gov stalling Bills

THE PUNJAB Vidhan Sabha was adjourned sine die Friday, hours after proceedings began on the first day of the two-day session as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said his government will move the Supreme Court against the Governor for not approving the three Bills that were to be tabled in the House.

Mann told Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan that his government will not table any of the Bills, and urged him to adjourn the assembly sine die.

"I do not want this issue to reach a flashpoint. I do not want any bitterness with Raj Bhavan. We will not table any Bill till the time we assure Punjabis that this session is legal. We will move the court on October 30,” Mann said in the House.

Following Mann’s request, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Balkar Singh moved a resolution to adjourn the Assembly sine die, which was passed by the House.

Amid the ongoing tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the AAP government, Governor Banwarilal Purohit Thursday wrote to Mann, withholding his approval for the three Bills. Purohit also “strongly suggested” that the government call either a monsoon or winter session instead of choosing to continue on this “precarious course”. He said if the government continued with the "patently illegal session", he would be compelled to consider an appropriate course of action, including reporting the matter to the President.

In the House, Mann said that they will get a direction from the SC and then reconvene the session in November and get the Bills tabled. He attacked the Governor, referring to him as "laat sahab" and alleging that Purohit is behaving as if “Punjab is under Governor's Rule or that he is the Lt Governor of Delhi”.