Congress leader Partap Bajwa demands: Table report in Punjab Assembly on ‘Operation Lotus’

Chandigarh: Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday wrote to the Punjab Assembly speaker seeking tabling of an action taken report on ‘Operation Lotus’, an alleged bid by the BJP to topple the state government last year, in the upcoming session of the House.

A two-day special session of the Punjab Assembly is scheduled to be held on June 19 and 20. Last year, the AAP dispensation had moved a confidence motion in the assembly after alleging that at least 10 of its MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of Rs 25 crore each in a bid to topple Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government as part of its ‘Operation Lotus’.

The motion was passed in the assembly on October 3 last year with the Congress and the BJP abstaining from voting. In his missive to Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Bajwa said, “I am writing to you today to bring your attention to a matter of utmost importance, namely the motion of confidence and subsequent discussions that took place during the special session of the House.”

The leader of opposition said the confidence motion, which was initiated by Mann and seconded by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, was tabled in the House on September 27 last year. “The chief minister spoke passionately for 36 minutes, followed by a speech from Shri Aman Arora, the Information and Public Relations Minister, which lasted for 13 minutes,” said Bajwa.

“Consequently, a substantial amount of time, totalling three hours and 11 minutes, was dedicated to addressing alleged poaching attempts by the ruling party at the Centre,” he said. “It is regrettable to note that the substantial investment of public funds in these proceedings cannot be overlooked. The grandstanding of the Aam Aadmi Party to convey its respect for the electoral verdict of the people of Punjab has incurred significant expenses.

“The pursuit of justice and the conveyance of a strong message necessitated the allocation of substantial resources towards these efforts,” said Bajwa. The Congress leader pointed out that ahead of the session, a delegation of AAP MLAs led by Cheema had even met the state police chief. Following this, an FIR was lodged in the matter.