KARACHI: Remarks by minister stir up rumpus, irk Speaker
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 28: The Minister for Local Government, Muhammad Hussain, was at the centre of a rumpus during the Friday session of the Sindh Assembly.
It all began with some unpleasant exchanges between him and the Speaker, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah when the minister got up to make some point. The Speaker asked him to take his seat, Mr Hussain refused to obey. Mr Shah remarked that ministers used to turn up late in the House and resort to act according to their own whims.
The minister retorted that he and his colleagues arrive at the House at 9am and it was the Speaker’s duty to take his seat at 10am and ensure the quorum. “If it is not possible, then the session should be adjourned sine die,” he opined.
The Speaker argued: “ensuring quorum is the members’ responsibility... ministers are not present and they raise hue and cry...”
Mr Shah left after handing over the chair to PPP’s Fareeha Haroon when the question hour started and Mr Hussain was responding to the members’ queries. The rumpus and disorder dominated proceedings during the period.
When the House took up the adjournment motion, pertaining to the devastating rains in the province and moved by Qamar Mansoor of MQM, pandemonium return to the House over Nuzhat Pathan’s claim that Mr Hussain had made a wrong and misleading statement besides levelling allegations against the Nazim of Hyderabad, who is a former PPP MPA.
The minister contended that the district governments were answerable to the provincial government after the restoration of the assemblies. In this regard, he cited constitutional provisions and the relevant provisions of the local government law.
He claimed that no member of the district government was there to solve the problems facing the area people amid overflowing drains and standing rain-water when he paid a visit to the affected areas. Nuzhat Pathan rose from her seat and rejected the allegation accusing the minister of lying. She claimed that she herself, besides the Nazim and other members of the district government, was there. She told the House that the minister was out to malign the district government as per his party’s agenda.
Her arguments provoked the minister to the extent that he resorted to warn her against “taking undue advantage of her being a woman.” His unparliamentary remarks stirred an uproar in the House. The situation worsened when Mr Hussain, defying chivalry, claimed that he had talked about the absence of sweepers and ‘kundimen’ and, he remarked, if she considered herself to be among those, she could ask for personal explanation. His remarks triggered off a bout of slogan-chanting and exchange of threats between the two sides of the divide. At this point of time, the session was being chaired by Mr Aslam Pervez.
On hearing the noise, the Speaker returned to the House and restored order in his usual way.
When the debate resumed, Zahid Bhurgari observed that the provincial government had failed to do enough to provide relief to the rain-affected people. Shakir Ali, however, felt that incompetent Nazims had made the people’s life miserable.
Bano Saghir pointed out that NGOs were providing assistance to the people while the provincial and district governments had not done much. She appealed to the members and ministers to rise above petty politics and serve the people.
Others who spoke on the issue included Marvi Mazhar, Rafiq Engineer, Dr Nasrullah Baloch, Qamarunnisa Leghari and Bilquees Bakhtiar.
The assembly also took up opposition’s adjournment motion on teaching of Sindhi language in schools. Education Minister Irfanullah Marwat referred to the 1972 Act and said that measures would be taken to ensure teaching of Sindhi even in the private schools affiliated with foreign institutions. On Thursday, the minister had told the House that the government was contemplating legislation in this regard.
The Minister for Local Government, Mohammad Hussain, was also supportive of the demand and said it was necessary for preserving the Sindh’s culture.
The Leader of the Opposition, Nisar Khuhro, while speaking on his motion pointed out that Sindhi was not being taught in private schools of the province. He argued: “If a child is not taught in his mother tongue, his life becomes difficult and competitiveness affected.” He thanked the MQM for teaching Sindhi to its members.
Syed Qaim Ali Shah, said that according to the Constitution, every province had the right to take measures for the development of its language and culture. He said that the demand for imparting education to children in Sindhi language was aimed at making them more competitive.
After the debate, the Speaker prorogued the session.
