An AAP legislator in Punjab said on Saturday that he has surrendered his travel, dearness allowances and other perks protesting that on the first day of the Assembly's winter session the House was adjourned within 11 minutes as a result of which lakhs of public money went "down the drain".
In a letter to the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, AAP MLA Aman Arora said that his conscience does not allow him to accept travel allowance, dearness allowance and other perks for the sitting of the House on December 13, "which was adjourned within 11 minutes after paying obituaries to the departed souls, and no issue concerning the state or its public was discussed."
The legislator from
Sunam said that Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh had recently said that one day of the session cost Rs 70 lakh to the state exchequer.
"Then how could the CM, his government and the speaker be so insensitive that they let Rs 70 lakh of public money go down the drain for just 11 minutes. There should have been a sitting which may be convened after a short interval to discuss public issues," Arora was quoted as saying in a release here.
"When the state is under a debt of Rs 2.5 lakh crore, farmers are committing suicide, there are no jobs for the youth, industry and trade are in shambles, teachers are forced to work on reduced salaries, such kind of wasteful spending reflects the insensitive attitude of the state government towards the state's fiscal health," the AAP MLA said.
Arora has sought from the Speaker after the obituary references, the House reconvenes for discussing public issues.
The Winter session of Punjab Assembly commenced on December 13. It was curtailed by one day and wrapped on December 14 instead of December 15.
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