Punjab CM to bring confidence motion in Assembly

New Delhi, Sep 27: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will bring a confidence motion in the Assembly on Tuesday, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan said.

The third session of the 16th Punjab Vidhan Sabha started in Chandigarh on Tuesday. However, The Business Advisory Committee of the House has decided to extend the duration of the session till October 3 as against the earlier tentative schedule of one day, the Speaker said.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Sunday gave his nod to convene the House on September 27, after days of squabble between the Raj Bhavan and the government over holding an Assembly session.

Earlier, the governor had withdrawn the permission to hold the session on September 22, when the government wanted to bring a confidence motion only.

It will be interesting to see how the Governor reacts to the latest development.

Following the announcement, the two BJP MLAs -- Ashwani Sharma and Jangi Lal Mahajan -- walked out of the House, PTI reported. The Speaker said that Business Advisory Committee of the House has decided to extend the duration of the session till October 3 as against the earlier tentative schedule of one day.

Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly complex, minister Aman Arora said the chief minister will move a confidence motion in the House.

The AAP government enjoys brute majority with 92 MLAs in the 117-member House, but the BJP and its government at the Centre made attempts to topple the government in the state, he alleged. "So, it is our duty that three crore people of Punjab are told there is no danger to the mandate they have given us," said Arora.

The AAP had recently claimed that at least 10 of its MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of Rs 25 crore to each of them in a bid to topple the six-month-old government under its 'Operation Lotus.'

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa wrote to the Speaker, seeking discussions on various issues, such as the SYL canal, sacrilege, law and order, the AAP's poll promise of Rs 1,000 per month to women, unemployment and illegal sand mining, during the session.