The latest Punjab Assembly session looked less like a forum of democracy and more like a comedy show where the ruling party played every role — hero, director, and audience. Instead of discussing Punjab’s burning problems, the rulers were busy scratching their own backs so vigorously that one wondered if the treasury benches had turned into a massage parlour.
With grand expressions and exaggerated claims, ministers narrated fairy tales of “historic achievements.” If one closed their eyes, it almost sounded as if Punjab had suddenly become Switzerland, where every youth had a job, every farmer was debt-free, and every road was paved with gold. Sadly, the only thing paved was their speeches — thickly coated with lies and self-praise.
Whenever the opposition tried to raise genuine issues — farmer suicides, joblessness, the crumbling education system, the debt trap — the ruling party either looked the other way or drowned them in loud claps for themselves. It was like watching students in a classroom who had not done their homework but kept telling the teacher how brilliant they were.
At one point, it seemed as though the ruling MLAs were competing with each other in storytelling. Each one wanted to prove that their government was the greatest in Punjab’s history, while outside the assembly, potholes, unemployment lines, and electricity bills were laughing at their claims. Even Bollywood scriptwriters would envy the creativity with which achievements were “cooked up” and served hot to the House.
The tragedy, however, is that this was not entertainment for the people of Punjab. What unfolded in the Assembly was a mockery of democracy, where those elected to solve problems were instead busy patting themselves on the back. Instead of solutions, we got a drama. Instead of accountability, we got a circus.
In the end, the session left Punjabis with only one conclusion: the ruling party has mastered the art of storytelling, but unfortunately, stories don’t fill stomachs, cure drug addiction, or provide jobs. They only provide laughter — and sometimes even that laughter comes with tears.