Punjab CM Mann asks Speaker to 'lock' opposition in House during discussion, triggers uproar
Chandigarh, Mar 4: Unruly scenes broke out in the Punjab Assembly Monday after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann handed over "a lock and key" to the Speaker, asking him to lock the Opposition inside the House so that they don't walk out during a discussion.
Mann, on the second day of the Budget session in the Punjab Assembly, slammed opposition MLAs for disruption of Governor's address on the opening day of the Budget session on March 1 and demanded a discussion in the House.
Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, on the request of AAP MLAs, allowed the discussion on the disruption of the Governor's address, in a departure from the practice of taking up 'Question Hour' and 'Zero Hour' at the beginning of a session.
Before the discussion commenced, Mann gave the Speaker an envelope containing a "lock and key", asking him to get the door of the House locked from inside so that the opposition members do not leave during the discussion.
"I will speak the truth and they will not tolerate it. Put a lock so that they do not run away," Mann told the Speaker.
Leader of Opposition and Congress member Partap Singh Bajwa told Mann that they would not run away. However, the latter kept asserting that the opposition MLAs would leave, following which a heated argument took place between the two.
As Bajwa and Mann sparred, the Speaker said the issue of putting a lock on the door of the House was symbolic so that the discussion can take place in the House.
The treasury benches and Congress MLAs also had a heated exchange, following which the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes.
Even after the House was adjourned, the members of the ruling AAP rushed towards the opposition benches after Bajwa made some remark and the verbal exchange stopped short of turning physical.
The heated exchanges between some of AAP MLAs and the Congress legislators continued even as some MLAs from both parties tried to intervene to calm the situation.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit's address to the state Assembly on the opening day of the Budget session on March 1 was disrupted by the opposition Congress MLAs, who raised the issues of protesting farmers and resorted to sloganeering.
Amid the uproar, Purohit had cut short his address. He read out a few lines and told the House that the rest of it be deemed as read.
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Bengaluru police arrest 6 from TN's Coimbatore in dacoity case
Bengaluru (PTI): Six persons were arrested from Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district in connection with a dacoity case here, police said on Sunday.
The police seized two two-wheelers, four mobile phones, and two laptops worth Rs 3 lakh from the accused.
The accused allegedly trespassed into a house here and threatened the occupants with deadly weapons, earlier this month.
According to police, the complainant, a resident of Pavamana Nagar within the limits of Konanakunte Police Station, submitted a complaint on April 18. He was a college student, originally from Kerala. He, along with six other students, resided in the house and all were pursuing studies at the same college.
On the night of April 17, around late hours, six unknown persons aged between 20-25 years unlawfully entered the house. They assaulted the occupants with their hands and a knife, causing bleeding injuries, threatened them, and robbed them of Rs 10,000 cash, four mobile phones, two laptops, and a two-wheeler, they said, adding that based on the complaint, a dacoity case was registered.
During the investigation, the police conducted inquiries from various angles and gathered credible information through informants. the an official release said, adding, the accused were later picked up from Coimbatore.
The police recovered the stolen laptops, mobile phones, a two-wheeler belonging to the complainant, and another one used in the commission of the offence, they said.
"Upon interrogation, all six accused confessed to their involvement in the offence."
The six accused were produced before a court, which remanded them to judicial custody, they added.
