Chandigarh, Sep 22: AAP legislators on Thursday took out a march in protest against the cancellation of the special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here.

Carrying placards with messages of "Stop murder of democracy" and "Operation Lotus murdabad'", the party MLAs slammed the Congress and the BJP for allegedly being hand in glove and working against holding the session.

The AAP legislators, however, were stopped from moving towards the Governor's residence.

Police had put up barricades around one km from the Vidhan Sabha complex. From the spot where barricades had been put up, the Punjab Raj Bhavan is over 2 km away. The protesting MLAs sat down where they were stopped and started shouting slogans against the Congress and BJP. No state minister was seen participating in the protest.

After holding a protest for more than an hour, the AAP MLAs later dispersed.

The decision to take out the march was taken after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann chaired a meeting of AAP legislators at Vidhan Sabha complex Thursday morning to decide the next course of action after cancellation of the special session. Congress President Elections 2022: Party Issues Notification for AICC President Polls; Contest Likely After Over 2 Decades.

The AAP legislators also hit out at Governor Banwarilal Purohit for withdrawing his earlier order of calling the special session on Thursday.

"It (not allowing a special session) is completely unjustified. The state government can call the assembly session," said Lambi MLA Gurmeet Singh Khudian.

He alleged that the Governor at the behest of higher-ups decided to cancel the session. The BJP is doing wrong and democracy is in danger, Khudian alleged.

oga MLA Amandeep Kaur told PTI that earlier the permission of summoning the assembly session was given and it was cancelled by the Governor later.

Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh too dubbed the Gvernor's move "murder of democracy". He also spoke against the BJP's alleged Operation Lotus, saying the saffron party was trying to topple governments by offering money.

During the protest, AAP MLA from Malkerkotla, Mohammad Jamil Ur Rahman used poetry to target the BJP, saying, "Ham aah bhi karte hain to ho jaate hain badnam, vo qatl bhi karte hain to charcha nahin hota" (We are ridiculed even if we make a feeble noise, but no questions are raised even if they kill someone).

Rahman told PTI, "BJP's Operation Lotus failed and now they are using other tactics to crush the voice of democratically elected legislators". Rahul Gandhi Says Congress Will Adhere to ‘One Man One Post’; Big Hint for Ashok Gehlot, Relief for Sachin Pilot.

In an embarrassment to the AAP government in Punjab, the Governor had on Wednesday thwarted the Bhagwant Mann-led regime's plan to summon a special assembly session to bring a confidence motion. The Governor withdrew an earlier order calling the special session on Thursday, saying it had sought legal opinion after the Congress and the BJP approached the Raj Bhavan arguing that the House rules did not allow it.

While the AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann slammed the Governor for not allowing the assembly session, saying it raises a big question on the country's democracy, the opposition parties hailed Purohit for preventing the government from 'sabotaging' the constitutional and legislative practices and procedures . The AAP government in Punjab had sought the session to bring a confidence motion, days after it accused the BJP of trying to topple its government.