With about 40 Congress legislators reportedly seeking a meeting of the Congress Legislator Party to press for Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s removal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday demanded the Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana KP Singh, to conduct a floor test of the Punjab government to prove its majority.
In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Thursday, senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema said, “The state government has gone into minority and a floor test is the need of the hour as Amarinder Singh has lost the support of the people of Punjab as well as the Congress party and its MLAs,”.
Cheema said the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government has clearly split and the CM has lost the trust of most of his Congress MLAs. He said, as a result, the ruling Congress in Punjab has lost the majority to run and retain the government as per the number of MLAs.
“The two factions, which have been publicly blaming and distrusting each other for a long time, have been wielding power over the number of MLAs. In such a challenging situation, the government of Capt Amarinder Singh has lost its majority,” he said, adding that being in minority, CM Amarinder Singh has no moral or constitutional right to remain in government. The AAP leader said that the majority of the Congress MLAs were seeking the removal of Amarinder Singh for his incompetence and failure in running the state.
“The CM does not even have a majority in his cabinet so he cannot be the head of government. The Punjab Assembly Speaker should immediately conduct a majority test in the House to know how many MLAs are with Amarinder Singh’s government,” he said.
Incidentally, a delegation of the AAP led by Cheema had met the Governor of Punjab, last month; demanding to convene a special session of the Assembly, directing the CM to prove the majority in the house. Taking a dig, Cheema questioned, “Why Capt Amarinder Singh and Navjot Sidhu did not accept the AAP’s challenge of proving the majority in the House? Where is Navjot Sidhu’s morality now, why is he keeping mum on the issue?”
He further slammed the rebel ministers and legislators of the Congress, stating why they did not meet the Governor and demand a floor test against the CM. “If the rebel Congress MLAs and ministers are true and serious in their stance against Captain, then why don’t they move a motion of no-confidence in the Assembly,” he questioned.