Punjab Governor declares special Punjab Assembly session ‘illegal’
Punjab Governor declares special Punjab Assembly session ‘illegal’
Chandigarh: The office of Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has called the special sitting of the Vidhan Sabha, scheduled for October 20 and 21, as “bound to be illegal and any business conducted during the session will be unlawful and ab initio void”. Notwithstanding this declaration by the Governor, the AAP government has decided to go ahead with the session. Official sources in the Vidhan Sabha say the date-wise programme of the business has been declared, with obituary references and legislative business to be conducted on October 20, and the remaining business the next day.
A letter, declaring the proposed sitting as unlawful, was sent by the Raj Bhawan to the Secretary, Vidhan Sabha, late last night. Governor Purohit is on a three-day tour of the border districts and was in Gurdaspur today. The letter, which has his approval, has been sent by the Under Secretary.
The Governor’s move is along the expected lines, given that he had raised a similar objection to the previous special sitting on June 19 and 20.
The Governor had declared the June sitting as “breach of law” and the four important Bills passed in the session — the Sikh Gurdwaras Amendment Bill, 2023; the Punjab Police Amendment Bill, 2023; the Punjab-Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023; and the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 — are still lying in the Raj Bhawan.
The fresh letter sent to the Vidhan Sabha cites the earlier objection raised by the Governor on July 24 to the session held in June. This special session, too, was convened as an extension of the budget session called on March 3 by the Governor. The fourth budget session was adjourned sine die on March 22, 2023, but it has not been prorogued to date.
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