Chandigarh, July 11 —The Punjab Vidhan Sabha witnessed chaotic scenes on Friday after Congress MLAs stormed out of the special session in protest over the July 7 daylight murder of Abohar businessman Sanjay Verma. The walkout came after Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan refused to allow a Zero Hour discussion on the law and order situation, citing special session rules.
As soon as proceedings began, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa pressed for an immediate debate on the Verma murder case. “We cannot ignore the deteriorating law and order situation. The House must discuss this issue,” Bajwa urged.
But Speaker Sandhwan maintained that there was no provision for Zero Hour during a special assembly session. Congress MLAs entered the Well of the House, demanding that time be allotted for discussion. Although they briefly returned to their seats, tensions flared again during a heated exchange between Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Bajwa.
Cheema accused the Congress of enabling gangsterism during its tenure and cited the example of Uttar Pradesh gangster Mukhtar Ansari being brought to Punjab under the previous Congress-led government. He further claimed that Bajwa was working in concert with the BJP by filing a cybercrime FIR against the AAP in Chandigarh.
Amid raised voices and sloganeering, the Congress members again walked into the Well before exiting the House entirely.
In their absence, Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal introduced and passed a resolution opposing the Centre’s proposal to deploy the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB) installations, including the Bhakra-Nangal dam.
The resolution traces its origins to the Congress government’s decision on October 21, 2021, under then Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, to allow CISF deployment. The current AAP-led government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann formally withdrew that consent on July 7 and sought to replace it with a new Assembly mandate.
“Punjab has expressed its strong objections through letters dated May 27 and July 4, 2025, to the BBMB. However, it appears the BBMB still intends to proceed with CISF deployment,” the resolution noted.
Citing seven decades of effective protection by Punjab Police, the resolution argued that there had been no serious security breaches at the installations even during turbulent times. “The Punjab Police are professional, deeply familiar with the terrain, and equipped to handle local threats. CISF deployment would only impose an additional financial burden of ₹49.32 crore annually,” it read.
It further warned that Punjab would not shoulder any financial responsibility for the central force if the Centre moved ahead unilaterally. “If the BBMB continues with the CISF deployment plan, Punjab will not bear any resulting cost,” the resolution affirmed.
The resolution also pointed out that Punjab independently maintains critical hydro facilities such as the Ranjit Sagar and Shahpur Kandi dams—both located near the international border—without central force assistance.
The House unanimously passed the resolution, urging the state government to take up the matter with the Centre and reaffirming Punjab’s objection to the CISF deployment plan.
