Senior Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Jattvibeday urged the Punjab government and Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to extend the assembly session to allow adequate discussion on six Bills listed for consideration.The Bills, which include proposals related to three digital universities, GST, outsourced and contractual employees and common infrastructure, have been introduced at the fag end of the session, he noted.He questioned how legislation with potentially far-reaching implications could be properly examined, 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? This is not meaningful parliamentary democracy,” Khaira said in a statement.The Monsoon session of the assembly is set to end on Monday.The Congress MLA said legislators should be given sufficient time to study the Bills, consult stakeholders, seek clarifications from departments and propose amendments in the larger public interest.“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,” the Bholath MLA said.Khaira said bringing important legislation at the eleventh hour leaves MLAs with little opportunity to understand its provisions and assess their possible impact.He said laws were not temporary political announcements and, once enacted, could affect institutions, employees, students, businesses and citizens for years.Khaira particularly questioned the need to introduce three separate Digital University Bills at the end of the session.“The government must explain why these matters could not have been brought before the House earlier to allow adequate discussion,” he said.He alleged that hurried decision-making had caused problems for Punjab in the past and said the future of the state should not be decided under a time constraint.“If the government genuinely believes these Bills are in Punjab’s interest, it should have no hesitation in extending the session and allowing a full and meaningful debate,” Khaira said.He appealed to Speaker Sandhwan to uphold the dignity of the legislature by providing adequate time for discussion instead of allowing important Bills to be passed merely to complete the government’s legislative agenda.“I appeal to the government and the Speaker to extend the session and give MLAs time to read, understand, debate and amend these Bills. Passing six new laws in haste on the last day is nothing but a cruel joke with the future of Punjab,” Khaira said.