Chandigarh, March 7 -- The budget session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha got off to a stormy start on Friday as the opposition Congress staged a walkout during governor Gulab Chand Kataria's inaugural address, while the treasury benches held a symbolic musical protest outside the House. The session marks the last budget session of the present government, which came into power in 2022 with a thumping majority, winning 92 seats in 117-members House. The session began on a turbulent note when Leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa interrupted governor Kataria's speech shortly after it commenced. Bajwa raised the issue of deteriorating law and order and recent killings in the state, drawing immediate fire from the treasury benches. Despite the governor's attempts to pacify the LoP, urging him to raise these concerns during the dedicated discussion period, Congress legislators descended into the well of the House, raising slogans against the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government. The protest culminated in a walkout by the Congress, boycotting the remainder of the governor's address. Lodging his party's protest, Bajwa said that AAP came into power by making tall promises which haven't been fulfilled. "The government has failed to maintain law and order in the state, and the scourge of drugs is rising," Bajwa said in the House before staging a walkout with Congress legislators. The governor, in his address, focused on health, school education, rural infrastructure, and agriculture sectors, tax collection, efforts to combat drug abuse and trafficking and ease of doing business, adding that the AAP government was working to take the state forward on the path of development. Highlighting commitment to welfare, the governor, in his address, said that the state government has paid Rs.9,992 crore for power subsidy to PSPCL, including free power to the agriculture pumpsets, in the current financial year. "The government has decided to provide free rations of 2 kg of dal and sugar, 1kg of salt and mustard oil and 200 grams of haldi in each quarter. The government will give provisions in 2026-27 under the Punjab government food programme," the governor said. He said the state government has transformed the health sector by opening 881 Aam Aadmi clinics, providing 107 medicines and 47 diagnostic tests and has recorded over 4.9 crore OPD visits, and the government plans to open 240 more clinics. "The state under the AAP government became the first state in the country to provide cashless cancer treatment under the Mukh Mantri Punjab Cancer Rahat Kosh Scheme, offering financial assistance of up to Rs.1.50 lakh per patient, and a total assistance of Rs.957 crore has been provided to more than 74,000 cancer patients. My government has taken a historic step towards universal health coverage (UHC) by extending 100% health coverage to the entire state population under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna" (MMSY). Under the initiative, every family in the state is entitled to cashless health cover of up to Rs.10 lakh per family per year for a 2,356 medical and surgical procedures," the governor said adding that 934 doctors have been recruited since 2022, which is nearly 25% of the total doctors in the state. Speaking on the developments in the education sector, Kataria said that the government has recruited a total of 13,765 teachers since 2022 and has sent different batches of 234 principals and education officers for a five-day leadership programme at different places of higher learning. "My state has emerged as a top-performing state in PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024," he told the House amidst the thumping of the desks by the members on the treasury benches. He added that the government has made 29 Schools of Eminence to date. Drawing attention to canal water and irrigation, the governor said the state government planned to construct a total of 3,443 km of new water courses and underground pipelines with an investment of approximately Rs.787 crore. "To date, 2,650km of the work has already been completed," he said, adding, "The government has carried out 2,600 km of lining works amounting to Rs.4,557 crore. During the year 2025-26, the government provided 33% subsidy on Bt Cotton Hybrid seeds recommended by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, for which Rs.11.17 crore is being disbursed to 52,184 farmers." Highlighting the government's commitment to promote direct sowing of rice (DSR) and crop residue management (CRM), Kataria said financial assistance at the rate of Rs.1,500 per acre is being provided to the farmers for promotion of DSR and during the year 2025-26, a total of 23,410 beneficiaries were provided financial assistance of Rs.35.38 crore." The government has increased the state agreed price (SAP) of sugarcane to Rs.416 per quintal for sugarcane. "From 2018-19 till now, my government has provided more than 1.58 lakh crop residue management (CRM) machines on subsidy. During the current financial year, an amount of Rs.394 crore has been utilised so far, to provide machines on subsidy," the governor added. Speaking on infrastructure upgrade and investments, the governor informed the House that the Mandi Board is undertaking the project for the upgradation of 40,103 km of damaged link roads at a total cost of Rs.12,597 crore. "During the year 2025-26, cover sheds are being constructed in 664 mandis of the state at a cost of Rs.197 crore and solar panels are being installed in 36 mandis at a cost of Rs.24.42 crore," he added. The governor said that 8,261 investment proposals with an investment of about Rs.1.5 lakh crore have been made, with the proposed employment potential of about 5.3 lakh persons....