Punjab Assembly LoP Bajwa Partap Singh Bajwa wrote to the Speaker where he termed Mann’s conduct as “deeply disturbing”.
High drama erupted in the Punjab Parliament on Friday, as members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the opposition Congress stormed the Parliament building amid opposition demands for an alcohol test on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The House, which met after lunch break, was adjourned as Congress MLAs demanded breath analyzer test on Mann, while AAP MLAs retaliated with slogans. Track updates on 2026 Assembly elections
The Speaker also rejected the Opposition’s demand to conduct an “immediate” dope test on PM Mann and all his legal aides during the ongoing special session of the Punjab Assembly. Earlier, Opposition Leader Partap Singh Bajwa raised concerns over Mann’s “conduct” and wrote to the Speaker.
What Bajwa said in the letter
In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bajwa referred to an “incident” that occurred in the House, without giving details about it, but described it as “extremely disturbing.” “If left unaddressed, this issue risks undermining public confidence in this venerable institution,” Bajwa said.
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“The incident that occurred today during the ongoing session, as raised by MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, has raised serious concerns about the conduct of the Hon’ble Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has left the House without responding to the allegations made by the member,” Bajwa said in the letter.
Seeking urgent intervention, Bajwa demanded “comprehensive doping testing” of all MLAs “without exception”.
AAP rejects Congress’ claims
Rejecting the allegations and “concerns” raised by the opposition Congress, the ruling Justice and Development Party accused him of making “frivolous and baseless statements.”
“Congress has been making frivolous and baseless statements, which is unfortunate and amounts to adding salt to workers’ wounds and undermining the dignity of the House.” Punjab AAP President and Minister Aman Arora told news agency PTI.
“President of a sensitive border country”
Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal launched a sharp attack on Mann as she accused him of appearing in the Assembly “in a drunken state”.
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“This man would go to Gurdwara Sahib after drinking, would go to temple after drinking, would come to Lok Sabha after drinking, would go to government meetings after drinking, and would drink so much outside that he was taken off the plane,” Maliwal alleged.
Maliwal was among seven Rajya Sabha MPs who walked out of the AAP last week as part of a coordinated breakaway led by Raghav Chadha. After nearly two years of her public disagreements with Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP, Maliwal has officially allied with the BJP.
Sukhbir Singh Badal of Shiromani Akali Dal Man also criticized and questioned his behavior in the House and said: “This is a serious violation of decency in the temple of democracy and a grave insult to the people of Punjab who elected him.”
Chaos in Punjab Assembly
Press Ti reported that the House witnessed chaotic scenes as heated exchanges took place between Mann and Congress Sukhpal Singh Khera after the former claimed that the opposition lawmaker was using a mobile phone at home.
Mann, during the one-day special session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, objected to the alleged use of mobile phone by Khaira when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out a formal resolution on pay revision.
Mann rose from his seat and pointed at the speaker, claiming that Khaira was busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan said about the resolution.
Based on Mann’s claims, the Speaker asked the Congress MLA to maintain order in the house and listen to the decision carefully.
Mann Khaira then asked: “Why don’t you go out and then use it (mobile phone),” which prompted a sharp verbal reaction from the Bholath MLA. At the same time, the speaker called for order and insisted on addressing the president.
Both Mann and Khaira continued the verbal altercation and were seen pointing fingers at each other during the disruption of the house proceedings.
