Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday led the house in remembering the farmers who had committed suicide, as well as drug abuse victims, while paying homage to several eminent personalities during obituary references.
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday led the house in remembering the farmers who had committed suicide, as well as drug abuse victims, while paying homage to several eminent personalities during obituary references.
On the first day of the Budget session, the assembly paid homage to 10 eminent personalities from different walks of life, who had passed away, leaving an indelible mark on the state in their own different ways. Speaker Rana Kanwarpal Singh then passed a resolution for conveying the condolences of the House to their respective families.
Earlier, responding to a request by a member, Captain Amarinder urged the Speaker to include the debt-ridden farmers who had committed suicide in the obituary references, to which the Speaker agreed.
In a press statement later, the Chief Minister reiterated his commitment to farm loan waiver, just as he had fulfilled the promise to bring 'kurki' to an end in the state. There was no question of backtracking on the debt waiver promise and his government would soon take over the loans of the farmers and also ensure that their mortgaged land/property is not confiscated, he declared.
During the obituary references, the Speaker also acceded to a request by Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to include, in the obituary references, all those who had lost their lives to drugs and other narcotics in the state during the decade-long SAD-BJP regime.
Meanwhile, Congress members Brahm Mohindra, Harmander Gill and Gurkirat Singh Kotli lashed out at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for trying to undermine the sanctity of the House and the Speaker, and showing disrespect to all the deceased personalities and other, by walking out in protest against the inclusion of ex-DGP Gill in the obituary references.
They dubbed the walkout as a political gimmick by the Akalis, who had no issue with which to take on the government and were feeling cornered in the face of imminent exposure through the impending White Paper to be released by the government soon.
