Bedlam over Bajwa's remarks against Seechewal

Cong MLAs stage three walkouts after treasury members demand apology from LOP; assembly passes motion censuring Bajwa

- Navneet Sharma

CHANDIGARH: Acrimonious scenes were witnessed in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Thursday, resulting in three walkouts by the Congress MLAs, after treasury members demanded an apology from leader of Opposition (LOP) and Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa over his remarks against environmentalist and Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal.

The heated exchanges between AAP members and the opposition Congress over the issue continued for nearly two hours with both sides trading charges, and the speaker had to adjourn the proceedings for 15 minutes at one stage. Subsequently, the House passed a motion censuring Bajwa for the remarks he made against the environmentalist a day earlier. The resolution was supported by members of the SAD, BJP and suspended Congress MLA Sandeep Jakhar.

Seechewal not an engineer: Bajwa

Bajwa, while talking to journalists outside the House on Wednesday, had attacked the state government for using Seechewal's technique for cleaning ponds in the state, denouncing it as a "failed model." He said that Seechewal was not an engineer, advising the government to consult experts from Thapar Institute, Patiala, and Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, instead.

In the House earlier, Bajwa had objected to the Seechewal model and made certain remarks which were later expunged by the speaker. Seechewal is known for his efforts to clean the Kali Bein rivulet in Sultanpur Lodhi.

Bharat Ratna sought for Bhagat Singh

As soon as the question hour got over, the penultimate day of the budget session, Bajwa stood up to bring a resolution in the state the opportunity to bring the resolution.