Former Punjab chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh made a triumphant re-entry into the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday two years after the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance used their majority numbers to “illegally” expel him from the House.
Expelled in September 10, 2008, after a Vidhan Sabha committee pronounced him guilty in a purported land scam pertaining to his tenure as chief minister, Capt. Singh’s membership was restored by no less an authority than a Supreme Court constitutional bench which declared the legislature’s action to remove him as invalid in April this year.
Dressed in his signature white shirt and chooridaar pajama, the former chief minister was welcomed back by Congress members with a profusion of floral bouquets and garlands. Later, he was greeted with a thumping of desks amidst the opposition benches as he walked into the assembly hall to retake his familiar seat at the head of the Congress members.
Widely viewed as the only Congress man capable of taking on the Akali Dal and the BJP in Punjab, Capt. Singh sought an extension of the ongoing Vidhan Sabha session to allow for a discussion on serious issues confronting Punjab. The Speaker tentatively agreed to consider the proposal.