Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday accused the Congress of supporting the BJP’s “Operation Lotus” and alleged that the opposition MLAs ran away from dialogue on the primary day of the third session of the sixteenth Vidhan Sabha.

Also learn: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann tables confidence motion in assembly

“The Congress is in such a situation that nobody wants to take over as its president,” chief minister Mann mentioned, taking a jibe on the celebration over the political disaster in Rajasthan the place MLAs loyal to chief minister Ashok Gehlot didn’t meet central observers of the celebration.

Mann additionally attacked the BJP, saying the saffron celebration feels solely they need to be in energy in all places. Two BJP MLAs, Ashwani Sharma and Jangi Lal Mahajan, had earlier walked out of the House after Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan introduced that Mann would transfer the boldness movement.

“Three crore people of Punjab have faith in us… I have full faith in my 91 soldiers (AAP MLAs),” Mann mentioned.

The AAP had just lately claimed that a minimum of 10 of its MLAs had been approached by the BJP with a proposal of 25 crore to every of them in a bid to topple the six-month-old authorities beneath “Operation Lotus”.

In the 117-member meeting, the AAP has 92, Congress 18, SAD three, BJP two, BSP one, whereas 1 is an Independent.

Speaker bars Congress MLAs from attending day’s proceedings

Fifteen Congress MLAs had been named by Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan for repeatedly disrupting the House proceedings, forcing its adjournment for 10 minutes on two events. When the House reassembled after being adjourned for the second time, the Congress MLAs had not left the meeting. The Speaker then directed the marshals to take them out.

The Speaker additionally ordered that the Congress MLAs won’t attend the session for the rest of the day’s proceedings on Tuesday.

After a standoff between Punjab Raj Bhavan and the AAP authorities, governor Banwarilal Purohit permitted the state authorities’s request to convene the House on September 27 when it knowledgeable him that points similar to paddy stubble burning, items and providers tax and energy provide will likely be taken up throughout the session. The governor had on September 21 withdrawn permission to carry a particular meeting session on September 22 when the AAP authorities wished to deliver a “confidence motion only”.

AAP govt has challenged governor’s powers, which is condemnable: Bajwa

Senior Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa, who’s the chief of the opposition, questioned the AAP authorities’s transfer to deliver a confidence movement within the House. Nowhere it’s talked about within the rule of Punjab Vidhan Sabha that the ruling celebration can deliver a confidence movement, mentioned Bajwa.

Bajwa instructed the Speaker that within the enterprise advisory committee assembly of the House, when he requested concerning the confidence movement, no reply was given. “It means no regard is being shown to the constitutional head, referring to the Punjab governor denying permission for bringing a confidence motion only. You have basically challenged the powers of the governor,” Bajwa said, adding “I condemn it.”

As the House met in the morning, the Congress members sought to know whether Zero Hour was being held as they had to raise certain issues.

When Mann and cabinet minister Aman Arora got up to speak, they were repeatedly interrupted by the Congress members.

The Speaker then told them not to raise slogans and rush to the well of the House. Mann lashed out at the Congress, saying “those who want to teach us law, they should take care of their own house first. In Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Goa, they could not take care of their own house. You don’t let anything be debated here, outside you demand that the House should be of longer duration.”

“Mr Bajwa, it means you are facing some loss if ‘Operation Lotus’ fails,” Mann told the leader of the opposition.

Hitting out at the Congress, Arora said the party was acting as the BJP’s “B team to oppose us”.

The AAP authorities in Punjab had earlier sought the particular session on September 22 to deliver a confidence movement, days after it accused the BJP of attempting to topple its authorities.