Chandigarh October 2:
The two-day Punjab Vidhan Sabha session starting on October 3 is all set to see both the SAD-BJP ruling alliance and the Congress making their presence felt by taking up issues to take on the other side, in this last assembly session before Punjab goes to poll next February.
As the session is expected to be stormy, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is making all preparations to take on the attacks from the opposition. In the last Vidhan Sabha Session, the focus of most legislators would be make their presence felt rather than be involved in serious legislative business.
Badal has summoned a Cabinet meeting on the morning of February 3 where a number of Bills are expected to be passed. So far, only the Right to Services Bill has the nod of Punjab Cabinet after which the government promulgated an ordinance. The other Bills likely to come up in the Vidhan Sabha include bills on private universities, special economic zones and amendments in the VAT Act.
Badal, it is learnt, has also held a meeting with most principal secretaries in his government and asked them to supply him with figures of the amount of money spent during the SAD-BJP government's current term. These figures will be compared with the money spent during the Congress regime. Badal is updating himself on the works of his government to leave a lasting impression on the house with the achievements of his government.
This would be the 13th session of the 13th Vidhan Sabha that would end on the first day with obituary references, but on October 4 and 5, the House will see two sessions before being adjourned sine die on the eve of Dusehra. The Vidhan Sabha will see a series of Bills that would be tabled. This includes the Right to Services Act that the SAD-BJP Government is touting as one of its major achievements.
The Congress is preparing itself to take on the government on the issue of an "engineered transport policy, made to benefit a few politicians running transport business". A senior Congress leader said that the government would also be put on a back foot on the issue of corruption, Hansi Butana Canal issue and some issues where the government failed to live up to promises made in the last manifesto.
The Chief Minister is also reportedly preparing a detailed reply to the allegations levelled against him and his family about the manipulation of transport policy and reduction on tax for luxury buses. A majority of these luxury buses are reportedly owned by the Badal family. The opposition is likely to ask for a CBI inquiry into the issue while the treasury benches are expected to shout down the opposition to deflect from the issue.
The opposition is also expected to raise other issues like government taking huge loans at the fag end of its tenure, leaving the repayment to the next elected government. The Congress will also take up the issue of continuing political vendetta and appointment of former DGP PS Gill as Adviser, Home Department. The House will also mourn its sitting member Jatinder Singh Kariha's death, besides the demise of a few other former MLAs and MPs.
The two-day Punjab Vidhan Sabha session starting on October 3 is all set to see both the SAD-BJP ruling alliance and the Congress making their presence felt by taking up issues to take on the other side, in this last assembly session before Punjab goes to poll next February.
As the session is expected to be stormy, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is making all preparations to take on the attacks from the opposition. In the last Vidhan Sabha Session, the focus of most legislators would be make their presence felt rather than be involved in serious legislative business.
Badal has summoned a Cabinet meeting on the morning of February 3 where a number of Bills are expected to be passed. So far, only the Right to Services Bill has the nod of Punjab Cabinet after which the government promulgated an ordinance. The other Bills likely to come up in the Vidhan Sabha include bills on private universities, special economic zones and amendments in the VAT Act.
Badal, it is learnt, has also held a meeting with most principal secretaries in his government and asked them to supply him with figures of the amount of money spent during the SAD-BJP government's current term. These figures will be compared with the money spent during the Congress regime. Badal is updating himself on the works of his government to leave a lasting impression on the house with the achievements of his government.
This would be the 13th session of the 13th Vidhan Sabha that would end on the first day with obituary references, but on October 4 and 5, the House will see two sessions before being adjourned sine die on the eve of Dusehra. The Vidhan Sabha will see a series of Bills that would be tabled. This includes the Right to Services Act that the SAD-BJP Government is touting as one of its major achievements.
The Congress is preparing itself to take on the government on the issue of an "engineered transport policy, made to benefit a few politicians running transport business". A senior Congress leader said that the government would also be put on a back foot on the issue of corruption, Hansi Butana Canal issue and some issues where the government failed to live up to promises made in the last manifesto.
The Chief Minister is also reportedly preparing a detailed reply to the allegations levelled against him and his family about the manipulation of transport policy and reduction on tax for luxury buses. A majority of these luxury buses are reportedly owned by the Badal family. The opposition is likely to ask for a CBI inquiry into the issue while the treasury benches are expected to shout down the opposition to deflect from the issue.
The opposition is also expected to raise other issues like government taking huge loans at the fag end of its tenure, leaving the repayment to the next elected government. The Congress will also take up the issue of continuing political vendetta and appointment of former DGP PS Gill as Adviser, Home Department. The House will also mourn its sitting member Jatinder Singh Kariha's death, besides the demise of a few other former MLAs and MPs.
