Uproar in Assembly over Punjab Governor's reference to 'my government'

Chandigarh, March 3 (IANS) The first day of the Budget session of the Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed heated exchanges as Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa objected to Governor Banwarilal Purohit's reference to the state as "my government" and finally ended with he and his Congress MLAs walking out.

As Purohit began his address, Bajwa got up and said this government has not replied to his letters seeking answers on several issues and he was referring to it as "my government".

"They (AAP government) have not accepted you as one of them and have not responded to issues raised by you," Bajwa said.

At this, Purohit advised Bajwa and Congress members to argue on this issue after his address, not now. "Please let me complete the speech," he said. "There should be no controversy as this is a very important session."

In the meantime, there was a sharp exchange of words between the treasury and Opposition benches and the Governor said: "Okay, I will say government and not my government," adding it "is better to avoid controversy".

Intervening during the ruckus, Leader of the House and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told the Governor that it was "his government and that he has called the Budget session".

Mann told Bajwa that he could debate on the issue when there is a discussion on the Governor's Address and they should not interrupt the Governor.

On the intervention of Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Purohit resumed his address, but he omitted the words "my government" in the speech.

From the way things happened lately, it appears that @AAPPunjab Govt was working in the state to implement BJP's agendas. Mann seems ready to dance to the tunes of the BJP.

— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) March 3, 2023

Again the Chief Minister intervened and emphasized that the Governor must use the words "my government" in his speech.

At this, Purohit said: "Ek minute meri baat suniye (Listen to me first). This is not the first time I am Governor. I was Governor of Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Meghalaya. In some states, there is 'government' mentioned and in some states, 'my government' in the address. It is not that important," Purohit clarified.

Later, the Governor said that the Chief Minister was also correct as the Cabinet had passed the text on the address.

He resumed his address by referring to "my government" on several instances.

As during over one-hour address in English, the Governor was referring to 36 government school principals being sent on a five-day leadership development programme to Singapore, Bajwa again stood up and reminding Purohit about his letter to Mann on the issue.

He asked the Governor if the government had provided the information he had sought. Purohit said he was confident they would provide.

Angered over the repeated usage of words "my government", Congress MLAs then got up and walked out of the house shouting that there was no point in listening to the speech since the government considered him a "selected Governor" and themselves "elected representatives".

In the end, the Governor advised all members to maintain decorum and dignity of the assembly during the House proceedings.

At loggerheads with each other for long, the latest flashpoint between the Chief Minister and the Governor is the latter's refusal to give consent to the Cabinet's decision to summon the Budget session from March 3.

In his letter on February 23, Purohit said he would take decision only after getting a legal advice over Mann's "derogatory" and "unconstitutional" tweet and letter addressed to him on February 13 and 14, respectively.