LAHORE, Nov 25: Around 100 MPAs forced to sit in the visitors’ gallery above the main hall felt alien during its plenary session on Monday as they could not attract the presiding officer’s attention or take part in the proceedings.

The opening session was marked with strong objections by the opposition and their demand of taking oath under the 1973 Constitution. They also passed remarks against the chair, army and the judiciary.

Speaker of the dismissed assembly, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who presided over the session fielded many of the objections and remarks but still many of his PML-Q men jumped in. While those in the hall were noticed, those in the visitors’ gallery remained ignored.

When failed to attract the chair for a permission to speak, some of those in the visitors gallery started shouting simultaneously. Finally, one of them was allowed to speak when a colleague literally bent over the parapet and said they were the members and not the visitors.

As many enjoyed the attention seeking method, Rana Aftab of the PPP blamed the NRB for enlarging the house and “making the up-benchers feel as if they are not a part of the assembly.”

He said it seemed that the next session would be held at Alhamra to show a drama of Babbu Baral (a stage actor) to the members. He asked Mr Elahi why he did not pay attention to the building of a new hostel for MPAs when he was the speaker.

He said those who could not be allotted rooms in the existing hostel, were given only Rs1,500 for staying in Lahore’s costly hotels.

Mr Elahi admitted that there was a shortage of accommodation for the MPAs and assured to build more rooms in the hostel facing the assembly.

He said keeping in view the problem, allowance of the assembly members had been increased to enable them to stay in hotels.

Earlier, Mr Elahi did not allow a PPP woman to speak despite repeated demands. The woman, sitting besides PPP’s Inbasat Khan, finally stood up and started speaking of her own criticizing the speaker for not allowing her to take part in the proceedings.

The only woman who was allowed to speak belonged to the PML-Q. Ms Zahida Sarfraz asked whether the members seeking more facilities were not aware of the fact that they belonged to a poor country. They should know that the country needed to construct the six-kilometre stretch of the Shahrah-i-Resham which was destroyed in an earthquake a few days ago.

“Thank God for the opening of the assembly doors after three years, and getting a chance to sit here,” she remarked. The speaker welcomed the new members on board. He said the people were looking towards them and they were required to come up to their (people’s) expectations.

The MPAs had started reaching the assembly much before the start of its proceedings. Their huge and luxury vehicles drew the people attention who saw so many cars on the roads after a long time.

The women members were particularly excited as majority of them were going to attend the session for the first time in their life.