November 26, 2002	Tuesday	Ramazan 20, 1423

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LAHORE, Nov 25: As many as 353 members elected to the Punjab Assembly in October 10 election took oath on the first day of its inaugural session on Monday.

The session was presided over by the Speaker of the 1999 assembly and the PML-Q candidate for the office of chief minister, Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. Before administering oath to the members, he himself was sworn in as a member of the House amidst shouts against him by the opposition members.

After taking oath, all the members signed the roll-call register. All 72 female members — 66 elected on reserved and six on general seats — took oath and were allowed to sign the register first. The male members put their signatures on it in order of their respective constituencies.

When the PPP, the PML-N and the MMA members sought explanation from the chair whether they were taking oath under the 1973 Constitution or the Legal Frame Work Order (LFO), the presiding officer stated the oath was being administered under the Constitution. “There has been no change in the oath mentioned in the 1973 Constitution,” he replied.

All provincial legislators present in the House took oath except MMA parliamentary party leader Chaudhry Asghar Gujjar who left the place after the “explanation” given by the chair on the LFO issue.

Before taking oath, the opposition members used strong words and remarks against the military, the judiciary and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.

However, the chair expunged all such remarks on the ground that they were uttered before the administration of oath and hence did not form part of the proceedings. He also asked reporters not to publish the expunged remarks.

But when some reporters informed him after adjournment of the House for the day that the session had been telecast live, he said he had just “carried out his constitutional duty by expunging the derogatory remarks”. But he did not stop them from reporting the expunged proceedings.

In all, 354 MPAs attended the opening session of the 371-member House held after 45 days of election. Only Asghar Gujjar did not take oath for which he was castigated by the chair. “He knew that he was not going to take oath but he came to the House. It is dishonesty with the House and his voters,” he said.

The session was witnessed by ministers, MNAs, civil officials, former Punjab Assembly Speakers Hanif Ramay and Sheikh Rafique Ahmad, American Consulate official Sheldon Rappoport, and former chief minister Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo. No visitor was allowed because of lack of space in the visitors’ galleries, a major part of which has already been altered to accommodate the increased number of MPAs. Around 100 MPAs sat in parts of the altered visitors gallery. The MPAs sitting in the visitors’ galleries had to remind the chair that they too existed when he ignored them during the rumpus before the members took oath.

The session started 40 minutes behind schedule. The PML-Q women members took their seats before the scheduled hour. They were followed by those from the PPP. The PML-N and MMA women were the last to take their seats.

As soon as recitation from the holy Quran concluded, many opposition members, including PPP’s Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan and Qasim Zia, MMA’s Asghar Gujjar and PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah as well as several other opposition MPAs, rose on points of order to ask whether the MPAs would take oath under the Constitution or the LFO.

Chaudhry Pervez asked them to let him take the oath first, promising to allow all parliamentary party leaders to speak afterwards. But Rana Sanaullah began speaking accusing the chair of not “protecting and honouring the Constitution which he had promised to do while taking oath as a member and Speaker of the House in 1997 when a group of the retired generals had taken over in 1999”.

These remarks angered Chaudhry Pervez who reminded the PML-N parliamentary party leader that he had once come to his house (after the military takeover) and delivered speech whose recording was still intact with him.

The Chaudhry expunged the remarks by Rana Sana because, he said, he was yet to become an MPA. He had taken the cue from former law minister Chaudhry Farooq, who said a member-elect could not raise point of order unless he takes oath.

When allowed to speak, Rana Sanaullah accused Chaudhry Pervez of developing “jernaili mood”. He also passed remarks against those who had taken over power, saying his party respected the soldiers who defend the country.

PPP parliamentary party leader Qasim Zia, who was less vocal than others, said the opposition wanted continuation of democracy. “We will allow assembly to function but disallow bulldozing of the opposition,” he said, adding the oath should be administered under the 1973 Constitution and “we reject the LFO.”

Asghar Gujjar asked the chair to treat the opposition members as his brothers. “We will cooperate with you but oppose you if disallowed to speak the truth,” he said.