Chandigarh, May 1
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal today demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asserting the latter had lost all moral authority to continue in the chair after participating in the special Vidhan Sabha session proceedings in an inebriated state. In a statement here, the SAD president said “Punjabis are shocked that their chief minister has insulted the august house as well as their mandate in this manner”.
Demanding a probe into the entire matter, Badal said it was a matter of concern that Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan did not rise up to the occasion to protect the dignity of the house by taking appropriate action, including subjecting the chief minister to the required medical tests. He said the very fact that the chief minister chose to flee from the Vidhan Sabha instead of answering the accusation that he was completely drunk indicated his guilt.
Badal also took note that the chief minister resorted to indecent language and expressions which had lowered the image of his post. Asserting that this was not first time Bhagwant Mann had behaved in this manner, Badal said “earlier the chief minister lowered the image of Punjab on the world level by being unceremoniously de-boarded from a plane in Frankfurt after he consumed an unacceptable level of alcohol”.
