Congress’s Partap Bajwa corners ‘defector’ MLA Sukhwinder Sukhi in Punjab Assembly, seeks to know if he is with SAD or AAP

Punjab LoP and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa, and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Sukhwinder Sukhi. (Express Archive)

The lingering issue of Banga MLA Dr defection came to haunt him during Tuesday’s special session of the Punjab Assembly when Leader of Opposition and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa sought an answer on which political party he belonged to.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislator Sukhi had switched over to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in August 2024. He was later appointed the chairman of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation with a Cabinet rank. However, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan is yet to accept his resignation. In the event that it is accepted, a bypoll will be necessitated. Meanwhile, Sukhi faces disqualification under the anti-defection law and a case to this effect is pending in the high court.

On Tuesday, the ruling party and the Opposition in the Assembly debated over his membership when Bajwa raised the question as Sukhi rose to speak on a resolution regarding replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme.

Bajwa first posed the question to Deputy Speaker Jai Kishan Rouri, who was presiding over the proceedings at the time. “He should clarify which party he belongs to. Since he is the chairman of a government corporation, the House should be told if he is getting the time to speak from the time allotted to the Opposition or if he is an AAP candidate,” Bajwa said.

Taken aback, Rouri asked him to let Sukhi speak and added that he would provide the information later. Bajwa, however, did not budge. The Congress leader said he was appointed the chairman of the corporation by the AAP government, but he is an SAD MLA. At least his status should be clarified.

To this, AAP president and Cabinet minister Aman Arora said he would answer this question as the party president, and said, “He is to us what Sandeep Jakhar is to the Congress.” Bajwa retorted that Jakhar is no longer a member of the Congress.

Seeing Bajwa’s insistence on the issue, AAP members launched a verbal attack on him, calling his stance anti-Dalit. Rouri and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema questioned why Bajwa could not bear it if anyone spoke about the rights of Dalits and labourers. Cheema called the Congress an anti-Dalit party. “It does not want a debate to take place,” he said.

Later, when Sukhi was allowed to speak, he extolled the virtues of the Bhagwant Mann-led government, stating that the poor in the state now had money because of free power, Aam Aadmi clinics, free travel, and the utilisation of MGNREGA funds. He made the remarks while seated on the Opposition benches along with the Akalis.