Turbans topple as protesting AAP MLAs removed from Assembly

Chandigarh, June 22 : There was high drama in the Punjab Assembly on Thursday as turbans were tossed off as protesting AAP MLAs were removed from the House premises. Earlier, AAP MLA Sukhpal Khaira and Simarjit Singh Bains were prevented from entering the House. Following this, they staged a dharna outside the Assembly. They alleged that Speaker Rana KP and the Congress government were preventing them from entering the House after they had raised the issue of sand and land mafias.
AAP members were also prevented by the police from entering the House. AAP members raised anti-government slogans saying police could not stop them on the basis of an unsigned order.
SAD-BJP MLAs also walked out of the House, except BJP MLA Dinesh Babbu.
Later, Khaira said AAP MLA Pirmal Singh Khalsa’s turban was tossed off as they were being thrown out of the House. Khaira and Bains raised slogans of ‘Beiman sarkar’ and ‘mafia speaker murdabad’.
Later, AAP MLA Pirmal Singh from Bhadaur addressed the media outside the Vidhan Sabha, alleging that his turban was tossed off by the marshals. He claimed that the Speaker did not hear them out. AAP MLAs alleged that male marshals removed even AAP’s women MLAs. They alleged that MLAs Baljinder Kaur, Rupinder Kaur and Sarabjit Kaur were also manhandled.  Party’s Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu said they had just asked the Speaker to allow Bains and Khaira to enter the House; but they were ordered to be thrown out, which is a murder of democracy.
The MLAs said Pirmal is a Dalit and this was yet another attack on a Dalit leader after the attack on SAD Dalit MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu on Wednesday.  Later, Speaker Rana KP brought a resolution against Tinu for using “unparliamentary language” against a minister in the House. Akali MLAs raised slogans against the Speaker and went into the Well of the House before staging a walkout from the Assembly. Later, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal led a forced entry of AAP MLAs into the House. There was pandemonium in the House as SAD and AAP MLAs forced their way in by pushing away the marshals and raised slogans against the Speaker.