Senior Congress MLA from Bholath Sukhpal Khaira on Jattvibeday urged the government and Speaker to extend the ongoing Punjab Assembly session by a few more days to allow adequate examination and debate on six new Bills listed for consideration in the closing stages of the session.Khaira said the legislative business includes six Bills dealing with three Digital Universities, GST, outsourced personnel and contractual engagement and common infrastructure. He questioned how legislation with potentially far-reaching implications for Punjab could be properly scrutinised, debated and passed on the last working day of the session.“How can six new laws, having far-reaching implications for Punjab, be properly scrutinised, debated and passed on the last working day of the session? This is not meaningful parliamentary democracy. The government must give legislators adequate time to study the Bills, consult stakeholders and move amendments in the larger public interest,” Khaira said.He questioned the rationale behind introducing important legislation at the eleventh hour, arguing that MLAs have little opportunity to examine the provisions in detail, understand their implications or seek clarifications from the departments concerned.“The Vidhan Sabha is not a rubber stamp for the Cabinet. The purpose of the legislature is to scrutinise legislation clause-by-clause, debate its merits and demerits and protect the interests of the people of Punjab,” Khaira said.Khaira said laws were not temporary political announcements and, once enacted, could affect Punjab’s institutions, economy, employees, students, businesses and citizens for years. He particularly questioned the urgency of introducing three separate Digital University Bills along with other major legislative proposals at the fag end of the session.He said the government should explain why such matters could not have been introduced earlier, allowing legislators and stakeholders sufficient time for discussion and scrutiny.


