Congress enraged over protocol breach during Harper’s visit to Golden Temple - 18/11/2009
CHANDIGARH, November 18: The Congress has criticised the state government for the breach of protocol during the visit of the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Golden Temple by not inviting the leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal to the function organized in Amritsar today.In a strongly worded letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary, Qila Raipur MLA Jassi Khangura said, he and his party were surprised that Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, the leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly was not invited to the function which was hosted by the state government. “The lapse is quite unacceptable, and those responsible need to be brought to book”, he asserted.
Attributing it to the partisan approach of the state government, Khangura said, “I fear this breach of both protocol and precedent only reflects the partisan mindset with which the state government is working”. Otherwise, he asked, how can one explain or justify the absence of the leader of the opposition, who represents almost as many people as the coalition partners in the government. “It must have conveyed a poor impression to the visiting Canadian Prime Minister”, he observed, while adding, “unfortunately, it seems ministers and officials believe themselves to be the workers of the Akali Dal more than representatives and servants of the masses, irrespective of party affiliations or inclinations”.
The Congress MLA regretted, this breach of protocol must have painted a dark picture of state politics to Prime Minister of a country where Punjabis have huge stakes and are such an important part of the community.
Khangura pointed out, whenever any foreign dignitary visits India, the central government ensures that leaders of all key political parties are invited and participate on equal terms. “Nobody represents a particular political party on these occasions, but the whole nation”, he said, while adding, “similarly, the presence of Ms Bhattal at the function would have added to the grace and dignity of the state because she would have been there as the representative of the people of Punjab and not just the Congress party”.
