Daily Times

The session of Punjab Assembly that was convened on the requisition of the opposition will be held today (Friday) amid strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) introduced by the assembly secretariat to fight the COVID-19. As per the details, the 21st session of Punjab Assembly was called on the requisition submitted by the opposition benches last week. Both the government and opposition benches have agreed upon to follow some certain SOPs as the session is being held amid the threat of COVID-19 when the patients of corona virus are on continuous rise in the province.

As per the SOPs set by both the government and opposition benches, only 100 MPAs can attend the assembly proceedings in one single day to ensure the protocol of social distancing in the House. The ratio of 52 and 48 has been set which means that only 52 MPAs from the government and 48 MPAs from the opposition benches can attend the proceeding. It is worth mentioning here that there are 371 members of Punjab Assembly and the condition of only 100 MPAs is imposed to ensure the social distancing in order to avoid the threat of COVID-19. The entry of guests and staff of MPAs is also completely banned while only the concerned minister will answer the questions of lawmakers during the question-hour. The assembly secretariat has also installed a disinfection tunnel at the entry gate while MPAs will use masks, gloves and sanitizers to protect themselves from the virus. Only those MPAs will be asked to attend the proceeding who have their questions on the agenda item including some senior lawmakers from both sides of the House.

It was learnt that most of the MPAs want to attend the assembly proceeding on the days of their own choices but there parties are preparing the lists for their attendance on the designated days only. Some MPAs from the South Punjab are not showing any interest in the session as they said that they cannot travel all the way from far-flung areas only to attend sitting for one day only amid the looming threat of COVID-19. Only selected MPAs will attend the sitting during the session that will remain continue for three to four days. The production orders for the leader of the opposition Hamza Shehbaz has also been issued by Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi who will chair the session today.

As per the rules of business of the Punjab Assembly, the Speaker is bound to convene the session within fourteen days of the submission of the requisition signed by 1/4th members of the House and PML-N has 166 members in the house of 371 while only 93 MPAs are required to submit the requisition. According to the requisition, the session should be convened to hold the General Discussion for the next budget (2020-21). “In accordance with the rule number 133-A of the Punjab Assembly, It is mandatory to convene the Pre-Budget session, in which members of the assembly are to propose their suggestions for the budget. Discussion and arguments are to be carried out at least four days prior to the budget session. Amidst the COVID situation this session has not taken place,” said the requisition. In this time of COVID-19, it would be the criminal negligence if the democratic institutions do not take up the lead at the frontline. Therefore, it is important that the pre-budget session takes place as soon as possible so the Punjab Assembly can oversee the Government measures for managing the current corona situation, said the MPAs in the requisition.