Following SC rap, Punjab Guv approves budget session

The Punjab Governor and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are involved in a tussle over the selection of 36 government school principals for a training seminar held recently in Singapore.

Chandigarh: Following the Supreme Court reprimand to the Punjab government and the Governor for their ongoing tussle, the latter on Wednesday gave his approval to the budget session of the Legislative Assembly, sources said. The Punjab Governor's lawyer told the Supreme Court that the governor has given the approval to convene the Assembly session thereby putting an end to the deadlock between him and the AAP government led by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

According to sources the Legislative Assembly budget session will now begin on March 3. The fate of the session hung in the air after Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit refused to allow the Punjab Vidhan Sabha session saying he would consult “legal advice” regarding the same. The deadlock came in the backdrop of a recent exchange of barbs between Purohit and CM Mann in official letters over the selection of 36 government school principals for a training seminar held recently in Singapore besides other issues. Governor Purohit had written a letter to CM Mann asking him to explain the process adopted to select the 36 principals for the tours.

In reply to the query, Mann had said that he was “only answerable to 3 crore Punjabis, not to a Centre-appointed governor” leaving the Governor infuriated. Mann further questioned the Centre's criteria for appointing governors. Purohit was not pleased with the reply and termed Mann's replies not only "patently unconstitutional but extremely derogatory".

The matter escalated with Governor saying that he was mulling legal advice, in an apparent legal threat to CM Mann. Following the Governor's refusal to summon the budget session, the Punjab government approached the Supreme Court, which pulled up the Governor and the CM over the matter. After the approval of the Legislative Assembly session, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tweeted thanking the SC for the “historic decision” to “save the existence of democracy in Punjab”.

“Now the voice of Punjabis, the session of the Vidhan Sabha will continue without any interruption," he said.