Punjab government calls two-day Assembly session on September 27th

Paving the way for another showdown with Punjab governor Banwari Lal Purohit, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government announced on Thursday that it would call the state assembly session on September 27.

The decision to hold a two-day session next week was taken at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. It came a day after the governor acted on the complaint of opposition parties-Congress, BJP and Akali Dal-that there was no precedence of calling a special session to move a confidence motion in Punjab assembly.

This time, however, AAP has not specified confidence motion as the main agenda of the assembly session.


"The government will call a session on Tuesday. With the permission of the speaker we would like to discuss issues of public importance like stubble burning and electricity," chief minister Bhagwant Mann said after the Cabinet meeting.

AAP, however, is not pulling any punches. Mann said the government would approach the Supreme Court to examine the legal tenability of the governor's decision. Mann attacked the opposition and said, "What is surprising from this episode is that Congress was seen together with BJP when Congress has been at the receiving end of BJP's 'Operation Lotus'-BJP has destabilised Congress governments by bribing its MLAs. It goes to show the two are in this together".

AAP Rajya Sabha MP and Punjab election co-convenor Raghav Chaddha said this is the first time they have seen the opposition running away from the assembly. "Usually it is the government of the day which shies away from calling a session and facing the assembly but here it is the opposition."

AAP MLAs marched from the Vidhan Sabha to the Governor's House on Thursday protesting against Purohit's decision to withdraw his earlier order allowing a special assembly session. AAP had won a landslide victory in the Punjab assembly elections in March, cornering 92 of 117 constituencies. However, the ruling party has been accusing the BJP of attempting to destabilise the government by trying to bribe its MLAs.