KARACHI, June 16: The Speaker of Sindh Assembly, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, has stated that whatever transpired on Monday during the budget speech of Finance Minister Syed Sardar Ahmad was not in good taste.

“The way adopted by the opposition was not to protest but to obstruct the proceedings and functioning of the Assembly. Some of the members pushed their way and tried physically to assault the minister. They set a bad precedent and tradition,” he said.

The Speaker made these observations while talking to a group of journalists in his chamber soon after adjourning the session in which the provincial budget for 2003-04 was presented.

In response to a question, he said that under rule 116 the proceedings of the Assembly should be confined to the speech of the finance minister on the day a budget was to be presented. That is why he could not allow the leader of opposition to deliver a speech on a resolution adopted by the House unanimously, demanding judiciary inquiry into the murder of Abdul Raziq Khan.

After he had attempted to accommodate the opposition, through the suspension of rules for presenting the resolution, half an hour was consumed in just mentioning the names of the relatives of members or former members who had died during the Assembly recess.

Referring to the episode in which the budget documents were burnt by an MPA, the Speaker said it was tantamount to putting democracy on fire. “It amounts to trampling the sanctity of the House. God forbid had the building caught fire, it would have been a great tragedy.”

He said being a Speaker, it was his duty to maintain decorum in the House but this was possible only when all the parties and groups in the House contributed towards that same goal.

“It was shocking that the party which preaches democracy, its members opt for hooliganism and attempt to assault those who do not subscribe to their points of view,” the Speaker added.

Answering another question, Mr Shah said prior to the commencement of the budget session, he had met the leader of the opposition — Nisar Ahmad Khuhro — and assured him in the presence of Murad Ali Shah and Saifullah Dharejo that the opposition would be allowed to raise various issues but the budget be presented first.

The opposition leaders went back, saying they would consult their colleagues over the issue, said Mr Shah. However, during the session the opposition started interfering the finance minister in his budget speech.

Mr Shah pointed out that the opposition members, after tearing the budget documents, littered them on the floor of the House. He then asked: “Are you going to resolve issues in a civil society in this manner by jumping over benches, igniting the budget document.

“The opposition has every right to give its points of view on LFO, Thal Canal and other policy matters but how could they stop others to present their points of view and in the present case it was an effort to make the majority party its hostage.”