Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led opposition in the Punjab Assembly boycotted the assembly’s proceedings on Friday over the Speaker’s orders to ban entry of six PML-N Members of Provincial Assembly in the House.

Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz, who was supposed to open the debate on budget in the house, said that his party would not attend the session until all the six MPAs of his party are allowed to enter.

“I’m here with complete preparation to give my speech on budget but we’ll not attend the session until the restoration of six of my MPAs as my party is just like my family,” Hamza Shehbaz said, while speaking on the stairs of the Punjab Assembly during the protest of PML-N lawmakers.

The PML-N’s legislators delivered fiery speeches during their protest at PA stairs while chanting slogans, “Donkey Raja Ki Sarkar Nahi Chulay Gi Nahi Chulay Gi.”

Criticising the conduct of Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Hamza said that the former had released a fake picture to media portraying that that PML-N MPAs were involved in damaging the furniture and other property of the assembly. He demanded to constitute a committee of the house to probe the matter in which the assembly furniture was seen damaged. “A fake speaker issued a fake picture,” Hamza said, adding that Elahi is running the house like a station house officer of a police station.

On the other hand, the treasury benches do not seem to be in the mood to appease the opposition as ministers of the government delivered fiery speeches in the house and said that the loss of 0.9 million incurred to assembly secretariat should be recovered from the salaries of PML-N MPAs who are responsible for the damage.

Minister for Public Prosecution Chaudhary Zaheeruddin said that opposition did not come out of a specific mindset of Model Town massacre. Pointing out the opposition’s protest at the stairs, the minister said people sat on stairs for begging only adding that the opposition should come in the house to face them. However, he suggested the house that minister for law and parliamentary affairs could give them the training on ethics, manners and how to maintain decorum of the assembly.

Information & Culture Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said that it is not the first time that the entry of MPAs is banned in the house as there are many precedents when MPAs weren’t allowed by the speaker to enter the house due to their misconduct.

“The speaker is the respect and sanctity of this house. He has become the speaker with our votes through a parliamentary procedure and therefore we cannot bear negative comments against him,” he said. The treasury legislators were on one page when Law Minister Raja Basharat said that the whole loss of Rs 0.9 million should be recovered from the salaries of those legislators who are involved in wreckage.

“The voters gave them the mandate to sit on the opposition benches but the PML-N MPAs are insulting the mandate and responsibility people gave to them. They should end the boycott and come in the house to give us suggestions on the budget,” he said. He was of the opinion that we all endorse the decision of the speaker to ban the entry of six MPAs in the house who were involved in damaging the assembly property.

However, Maulana Muavia Tariq of Pakistan Rah-e-Haq party and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) senior lawmaker Saeed Akbar Niwani said that the opposition should be called in the house as it is the tradition and beauty of the house. Mian Tahir Jameel, the only MPA of PML-N present in the house pointed quorum that PTI managed to keep intact.

Several lawmakers from South Punjab also delivered speeches on the budget while many of them were demanding the facilities of health and clean drinking water in their areas.

The session was later adjourned by Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari for Monday at 2pm.

Published in Daily Times, October 20^th 2018.