The North News
Chandigarh, February 25
The second day of the Punjab Assembly session was marked by intense debates, with allegations of illegal mining, liquor scam and corruption fueling political clashes. Leader of Opposition(LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of allowing illegal mining in Amritsar, Pathankot, and Anandpur Sahib. However, AAP dismissed the claims, arguing that Congress had no substantive issues to raise and was resorting to baseless accusations.
Cabinet Minister Aman Arora shifted the focus to a letter from retired Enforcement Directorate Deputy Director Niranjan Singh to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Arora claimed that Singh’s investigation implicated at least ten Congress MLAs, a minister, and close associates of the former chief minister in a 2020 illicit liquor case. He alleged that such activities thrived under the previous Congress government, accusing Bajwa of making misleading accusations to divert attention.
Despite their differences, AAP and Congress found common ground in condemning the BJP over the alleged removal of portraits of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar from the Delhi Chief Minister’s office after Rekha Gupta took charge. Both parties called the move an attack on constitutional values. Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema urged all parties to pass a resolution against the BJP’s decision.
