Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Livemint
Livemint
National
Livemint

Punjab governor withdraws order summoning special Assembly session for ‘confidence motion’

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday withdrew his order summoning a special Assembly session on September 22 for the AAP govt to move a confidence motion.

The order read, “I, Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Punjab hereby withdraw my orders, regarding summoning of the sixteenth Vidhan Sabha of the state of Punjab to meet for its third (Special) session on Thursday in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha hall."

Notably, the decision came after Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma approached the governor, arguing that there was no legal provision to convene a special session of the Assembly to just move a 'confidence motion' in favour of the state government. The AAP government in Punjab had sought the special session to bring a confidence motion, days after it accused the BJP of trying to topple its government, according to the PTI report.

Addressing a letter to Secretary Punjab Vidhan Sabha, he said that a legal opinion was sorted on the entire matter from the Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Jain. "This matter was examined and a legal opinion was sort from Satya Pal Jain Additional Solicitor General of India. He has given his legal opinion that there is no specific provision regarding the summoning of the Assembly for considering 'confidence motion' only, in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Rules of procedure and conduct of business", read the letter.

It is in light of the above provision that the Punjab Governor withdrew his offer dated September 20. Later the Aam Aadmi Party released a statement on the cancellation of a special session of the House by the Governor of Punjab, saying that this is an example of democracy in Punjab being killed at the behest of the BJP.

"This is another example of the killing of democracy in Punjab at the behest of the BJP. To date in the history of India, the Governor has not cancelled the approval of the special session. This is the first such shameful incident in the history of Indian democracy. The complicity between the BJP and the Congress, which was behind the scenes, has now come to the fore", stated AAP.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI)

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Post your comment
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.