Chandigarh: The Congress on Monday objected to the AAP govt’s decision to table as many as nine legislative Bills on the final day of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha session, arguing that rushing key legislation through the House leaves little scope for meaningful debate or preparation.During Zero Hour, Congress MLA and Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said, “We are tired of requesting that Bills be provided at least three days in advance. Nine Bills have been listed for today, and three of them were received only this morning.”Bajwa added, “We will go through the same thing that the Jathedar of Akal Takht pointed out to all of us. When he asked MLAs from both sides whether they had read the anti-sacrilege Bill introduced in the last session, most said no.”Questioning the legislative process, Bajwa said, “What is the purpose of this House? The entire objective is defeated. Is there a computer that can come up with instant answers? It sends the wrong message and portrays members in a poor light.”He demanded that the duration of the House session be extended to allow adequate discussion on the proposed legislation.Responding to the concerns, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan directed the parliamentary affairs minister to ensure that all future Bills are circulated among MLAs at least 15 days before being taken up in the House.Later, Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira also argued that there was insufficient time to discuss such a large number of Bills and questioned why some of them could not be deferred to the next session.Clarifying the timeline, Speaker Sandhwan said the Bills had been circulated in advance. The Punjab Common Infrastructure (Regulation and Maintenance) Amendment Bill was circulated on July 22.The Punjab Private Schools Fee Regulation Bill, Cloud University, Hoshiarpur Bill, Digital University, Patiala Bill, Physics Wallah Digital University, Patiala Bill, Goods and Services Tax (GST) Amendment Bill, and Punjab State Outsourced Personnel (Transition to Contractual Engagement) Bill were circulated on August 7.The Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill and the Punjab Protection of Trees Bill were circulated on August 9.The Speaker said MLAs had sufficient time to review the Bills if they wished to prepare. However, he reiterated that he had instructed the parliamentary affairs minister to ensure timely circulation of all future legislation.
