Congress demands discussion on law & order in Punjab Assembly

Punjab Assembly witnessed noisy scenes on Wednesday as Congress MLAs stormed the well of the House after being denied a discussion on law and order and the SAD condemned the invoking of the National Security Act against pro-Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh.

As the Question Hour began, Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa asked Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan about the adjournment motion on law and order moved by his party. The Speaker told Bajwa it has been disallowed, angering Congress legislators who rushed to the well and shouted slogans. Later, during the Zero Hour, Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali said an “atmosphere of terror” has been created in the state, referring to the police action against Amritpal Singh and members of his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’.

The radical preacher is on the run after police launched a crackdown against his outfit on Saturday and arrested a number of his aides. He fled the police net in his Mercedes vehicle but later switched to a Brezza SUV, officials said. A viral photo and a CCTV footage later showed him riding pillion on a bike wearing a pink turban and black goggles.

On Wednesday, police said they have recovered the bike on which Amritpal Singh fled near a canal in Jalandhar. “The bike has been recovered. Further investigations are on,” a police official said in Jalandhar.

A police team, including two deputy superintendent of police rank officers, meanwhile reached Jallupur Khera, Amritpal Singh’s native village in Amritsar district, and met some of his family members.

Inside the assembly, Congress leader Bajwa termed as “wrong” the speaker’s decision to disallow the adjournment motion on law and order in the state. Bajwa asked the chair to give Congress members some time to speak on the matter, but the speaker retorted, “I want to say to you that Question Hour is sacrosanct... People of Punjab will not tolerate this. People are watching you.”

SAD’s Ayali alleged that many Sikh youths are being implicated in “false cases”.

Meanwhile, officials say that the brains behind pro-Khalistan fugitive Amritpal Singh’s escape from the police dragnet was 38-year-old Papalpreet Singh, who was in close contact with Pakistan’s ISI and was taking instructions from it.

They said Papalpreet Singh is considered one of Amritpal Singh’s mentors who had been advising him on various issues. Papalpreet had been working with Amritpal closely since he returned to India last year and took over the reins of ‘Waris Punjab De’, an organisation founded by actor Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident in 2021. Papalpreet was seen driving a motorcycle with Amritpal riding pillion.