Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday criticised Congress MLAs for staging a walkout from the Assembly during the Governor’s address on Friday. He stated that the opposition walked out because they did not want to listen to the achievements of the AAP government.
“Congress MLAs don’t have any issue to raise. What else could they do? People do not like them,” Mann stated this while speaking to mediapersons after seeing off a group of school principals leaving for a training programme in Singapore.
“When they (Congress MLAs) are sitting in the House, they cannot hear the government's achievements, such as how many schools and hospitals have been built, etc. That is why they walked out of the House," Mann added.
The Budget session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly began on a stormy note on Friday. Congress MLAs chanted slogans against the AAP government and walked out when Governor Gulab Chand Kataria was addressing the House.
Though Kataria urged the opposition MLAs to raise their concerns at the appropriate time, the Congress legislators continued sloganeering against the Mann-led government and eventually walked out of the Assembly.
On being asked about the Rs 1,000 monthly allowance for women — a key pre-poll promise of the Aam Aadmi Party — Mann stated that he could not reveal anything before the presentation of the state Budget. “The Budget will be presented on International Women's Day, so you can make your guess,” Mann told mediapersons.
As per sources, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema is expected to announce the Rs 1,000 monthly allowance for women when he tables the state Budget on Sunday, nearly four years after the AAP came to power in Punjab.
On people from Punjab stranded in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States–Israel alliance, Mann said the state government has shared details of 385 people, mostly tourists, with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Some flights are arriving from Oman and Dubai, and passengers are returning in batches, the Mann said.
Responding to the opposition’s criticism over painting state-run Punjab Roadways Transport Corporation buses in blue and yellow — colours associated with the AAP — Mann said the buses are privately owned and operate under the Punjab Kilometre Scheme.
He explained that the scheme is a public-private partnership that allows private operators to run bus services. Under the arrangement, the private companies provide buses, drivers and maintenance, while the government provides the routes and fuel.
Also read: Congress ‘gherao’ bid stopped; police use water cannons
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