Chandigarh: The Budget Session of the Punjab Assembly will commence here on Thursday with the opposition Congress set to corner the Parkash Singh Badal-led government on various issues, including the Land Acquisition Bill.
The Budget Session will commence with the address of Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki and conclude on March 25 after holding nine sittings during the intervening period.
As per the agenda released by the Punjab Assembly, Obituary references will be taken up on Friday.
The budget for 2015-16 will be presented on March 18 which will be discussed for two days on March 20 and 24. March 16 and 17 have been allocated for discussion on the Governor's address.
The Assembly said that non-official business will be taken up on March 19.
Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has asserted that the Congress is fully prepared to corner the SAD-BJP government, led by Badal, on various important issues concerning common man in the upcoming budget session commencing on March 12.
She said issues pertaining to farmers of state including Land Acquisition Bill would be taken up vociferously by Congress.
"Badal government seems to be passive on the issue of land acquisition act," she added.
Bhattal said that Modi government backtracking on the issue of providing a minimum of 50 percent profits over the cost of production, cheaper agriculture inputs and credit as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee would also be raised in the Assembly.
The Congress said the worsening law and order situation, including the recent gangrape of a girl in Ludhiana on Saturday night on the eve of International Women's Day would also be raised in the House.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh said he had been consistently reminding the government about the deteriorating law and order situation and it has continuously been going from bad to worst.
"This incident is purely the failure of law and order and the entire onus is on the government which has failed to ensure safety and security of our women," he said.
"Ludhiana gangrape is too horrible and horrendous to be taken too casually as the government appears to be doing," he said.
"The alarming regularity with which such incidents are taking place across the state is quite worrying and more worrying is the government's criminal indifference towards such a situation," he observed.
The Congress is also expected to rake up the Drug Case following the arrest of a drug peddler Jagdish Singh Bhola recently.
As per reports during investigation of the case by the Jalandhar based Enforcement Directorate one of the accused has alleged that he had paid Rs 35 lakh to a Cabinet minister in the Badal government.
The damage to crops in the state during the recent unseasonal rates and issue of compensating the farmers is also expected to be taken up by the opposition Congress.
