The Punjab political landscape heated up as AAP cabinet heavyweights Harpal Singh Cheema, Aman Arora, and Harbhajan Singh ETO took Congress to task for walking out on the Governor’s address. Calling it an affront to the legislative assembly and decades of democratic etiquette, the ministers painted a picture of a party out of touch with governance realities.
Disruptions and heckling from the opposition were dismissed as feeble ploys to eclipse the government’s milestones in infrastructure and welfare. In a pointed critique, Cheema recalled Congress’s legacy of mafia proliferation while neglecting state coffers and citizens, juxtaposed against AAP’s prudent financial management.
‘Congress is a sinking ship, reduced to zero in Delhi and Bihar, and Punjab will be no different,’ Cheema predicted, attributing this to the party’s exclusionary politics against the masses and Dalits.
The Governor, as the constitutional head, urged restraint twice, yet Congress defied norms in an anti-democratic display. This behavior, ministers argued, underscores a profound lack of respect for institutional decorum.
Turning the spotlight on ETO, a Dalit leader who rose through merit via civil services before embracing public service with AAP, the ministers decried Congress’s insulting rhetoric likening him to mere fanfare. AAP’s symbolic band protest rattled Congress, forcing them to confront their hubris.
Aman Arora minced no words: the boycott was a ‘disgraceful farce’ undermining 75 years of parliamentary tradition, where the Governor’s address has long been the state’s progress blueprint.