Chandigarh: Led by chief minister Bhagwant Mann, the Punjab assembly Thursday passed a resolution urging the Centre to immediately roll back the Agnipath scheme. With it, Punjab has become the first state to have passed a resolution against the scheme in its state assembly.
Flaying the said scheme, Mann said it was impractical that those undergoing training would study at the same time. He asked the BJP “not to mislead” the people and wanted to know about the status of an Agniveer who dies while fighting on the front or on duty. Passing the resolution, the House asked the Centre to withdraw the scheme and give long-term employment to youngsters in the armed forces.
The resolution was supported by the opposition parties - Congress and Shiromani Akali Dad (SAD) – though both the BJP legislators, Ashwani Sharma and Jangi Lal Mahajan, opposed it.
Sharma held that no one in the House was a subject matter expert and that one should have faith in the heads of the three chiefs of the army, navy and air force who have stood by the scheme.
SLAMS CENTRE’S MOVE ON PU STATUS
Amid opposition by the BJP MLAs, the Punjab assembly also passed a resolution flaying the move by the Centre to change the status of Panjab University, Chandigarh.
The House asked the state government to take up the matter with the Centre so as not to change the character of Panjab University in any way.
The resolution read that Panjab University was re-commenced with an Act of the Punjab state namely the Panjab University Act, 1947, after Independence, and subsequently, with the reorganisation of the state of Punjab in 1966, it was declared as an Inter-State Body Corporate under Section 72(1) of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. Since its inception, Panjab University has been continuously functioning in the state of Punjab. It was shifted from Lahore, the then capital of Punjab, to Hoshiarpur and then to Chandigarh. More than 175 colleges of Punjab are affiliated to Panjab University.
ROURI ELECTED DY SPEAKER
Meanwhile, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Garhshankar, Jai Krishan Singh Rouri, was unanimously elected the deputy Speaker of the Punjab assembly. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann installed the Deputy Speaker on the Opposition benches, next to the Leader of Opposition’s seat. Rouri, the second time MLA, was formerly a wedding photographer and also had a studio.
