KARACHI: Opposition can’t dictate to run house, says speaker
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, March 16: Sindh Assembly Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah has said that the opposition could not blackmail him to run the house business in accordance to their dictates.“Let them exercise their right of moving no confidence resolution against me,” he said and added that he was under oath as Speaker to conduct the house business as per rules and the Constitution.Speaker Muzaffar Shah was responding to questions of newsmen in his chamber after the session on Wednesday. Commenting on the move against him by PPP, the major opposition group in the assembly, the speaker said all his efforts during last over two years of the present assembly were aimed at facilitating members of the house to make them fully conversant with the rules of business. But, he added, the opposition wanted to dictate him to run the house according to their desire by allowing them out of turn and bypassing the rules to speak whatever they like. “I want to clear them that until I am speaker, I will ensure to carry out all business as per rules and the Constitution,” he said.
The speaker also referred to the attitude of Rafique Engineer in yesterday’s session which was threatening. He asked him four times to take his seat and allow leader of opposition Nisar Khuhro who was on his feet to complete his argument but Rafique Engineer did not listen.
He pointed out that all decisions in the house were being taken on the basis of the majority of the members in the house. “Today, Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman wanted to move his resolution beyond the rules by exercising discretion powers of the speaker, if I have allowed him, how can I refuse others,” he added.
Muzaffar Shah pointed out that the resolution of Jameeluz Zaman could only be taken up on the private members day. The resolution was not included in the business they had listed in their requisition. If it was so important and urgent, it should have been listed in the business, he remarked.
He said the important issue which they had listed was of law and order on which the discussion was due today but unfortunately our friends in the opposition did not like to carry on business in their own requisitioned session. This was undemocratic approach, he said, and recalled that the rules of business were framed in 1976.
