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| June 17, 2005 | Friday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 9, 1426 |
Slanging match in Punjab assembly
LAHORE, June 16: The opposition resorted to slogans in the Punjab Assembly when speaker Afzal Sahi on Thursday put for voting the resolution condemning ‘indecent’ remarks by Rana Sanaullah. The slogans of Zulm kay zaabtay hum nahen maantay (we do not accept rules of oppression) and lotacracy nahen chalay ge (turncoats won’t be allowed) were converted into “go speaker go” when Mr Sahi announced his verdict of banishing Rana Sana from the house for 15 days.
PML-N MPA Rana Mashhud, who was leading the slogans, was also handed down the same ‘sentence’ when he did not comply with the chair’s orders thrice to immediately leave the house.
Giving the verdict, Mr Sahi adjourned proceedings for a prayer break.
Earlier, the speaker suspended rule 140 of the house to allow law minister Raja Basharat to move the resolution, which read: “This august house of the Punjab Assembly condemns abuse of all honourable members of the assembly by Rana Sanaullah Khan, MPA (PP-70), during budget session on June 15, 2005, use of objectionable language by him during house proceedings and his attitude of using double entendre against all respected members, especially women.
“This august house demands that the speaker should suspend membership of Rana Sanaullah Khan and bar him from attending the current session for his unparliamentary attitude, abusing all respected members of the assembly and using wrong language.”
All opposition MPAs stood on their seats to oppose the resolution.
PPP’s Nazim Shah argued with the chair that there was no precedent of tabling such a resolution in the past, and urged him not to set new but ugly examples.
Mr Shah said such words (as uttered by the Rana) had been and would be used in the house and bringing resolutions against them every time would create a lot of difficulties.
Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan reminded the speaker that when a unanimous resolution against desecration of the Holy Quran by the US investigators at Guantanamo Bay camp had been moved in the house a couple of days ago, the chair had given the ruling that the rules of business did not allow it during the budget session.
He complained that Rana Qasim Noon, Najaf Sial, Aleem Shah and a few other treasury members had used filthy language in the house on Wednesday and tried to attack Rana Sana but no action was initiated against them. He said the issue had been settled after Rana Sana complied with the ruling of the chair on Wednesday, and now there was no justification for this act.
Parliamentary secretary Muhammad Ahmad Khan claimed that the treasury had announced that they their decision to accept apology by the Rana under the chair’s ruling would be conditional. MMA’s Arshad Baggu, however, said the ruling was unconditional.
Rana Sana denied having abused anyone and offered the chair to go through the Wednesday’s proceedings there and then to judge veracity of his assertion. He said he had talked of only turncoats without naming any person or party. He said he would resign if the record showed him naming anyone.
He said Fayyaz Chauhan of the treasury had named opposition parties, besides gesturing towards them a couple of days ago while declaring them baighairat (impudent) at least 10 times.
Raja Basharat and some other ministers had been thumping their desks each time Mr Chauhan uttered the word, he said, asking if this was not an abuse.
He said the resolution, when adopted, would become a medal for him as he believed that he was being punished for exposing the ‘conspiracy’ against interests of the Punjab on the NFC issue.
He said the act would neither damage his political career nor deter him from speaking the truth.
Rana Sana said in future the treasury should banish all opposition members through such resolutions before every session “to run the house smoothly.”
PPP’s Raja Riaz said if the treasury did not change the decision, he, too, would table a resolution (against the treasury). He sought the chair’s permission for the purpose but was disallowed.
Law minister Raja Basharat said he could say it on oath that Rana Sana’s mudslinging was targeted at the provincial leadership (of the ruling party) and not the turncoats. He also claimed that yesterday’s ruling of the speaker was conditional.
CM: Chief minister Pervaiz Elahi says the Punjab Assembly speaker has saved the house from any major destruction by acting against the members, who have been spoiling traditions of the house.
Speaking at a press conference in his chamber on the assembly premises, he said Mr Sahi upheld the sanctity of the house by banishing Rana Sanaullah “for his uncivilized attitude and indecent remarks.”
Rana Sana, he said, had always transgressed limits of decency in his comments during two and-a-half years of the existing assembly.
Alleging that women MPAs had been coming weeping to him at the Rana’s remarks which one could not pass while in one’s family, he said rules were made for such people who crossed limits.
He said it was a unanimous decision of the PML parliamentary party to take actions against the MPAs, who were spoiling norms (of the house). He said the PML was trying to run the house in a manner that it could complete its term.
Answering a question about floor-crossing, he said the issue should not be mixed with this incident. However, he said, around 70 per cent of the people who were fed up with the attitude of leaders were joining the PML.
SPEAKER: Mr Sahi told reporters at his chamber that he knew that he had taken an extreme step, but he had to do so to placate 260 enraged treasury members who were not ready to accept anything milder.
“It is my responsibility to run the house. If I had not taken the step, they (the treasury benches) would not have allowed me to run the house peacefully and smoothly. However, I am not happy to suspend anyone’s membership.”
He told a questioner that the legal status of the budget proceedings would remain intact even if the opposition decided to boycott these. The opposition had better not to stay away, he advised.
Replying to a question about his Wednesday’s ruling, he said the majority party had the right to table any resolution notwithstanding the chair’s verdict.
Mr Sahi, after the treasury offered to accept whatever the decision the speaker would take to resolve the issue, had announced that Rana Sana should take back his controversial words and apologize with all the members.
RANA SANA: Deputy opposition leader Rana Sana alleged that the speaker had become a party to the issue.
Talking to reporters, he said the chair, immediately after the resolution was passed by the house, read out a written decision banishing him from the house.
He asserted that by bringing in a resolution to protest his utterance about lotacracy, they admitted that they were all turncoats.
PPP deputy parliamentary leader Rana Aftab claimed that the proceedings against Rana Sana were illegal because the speaker had not extended time of the house after 2pm.
He said the speaker had become a tool in the hands of the government. “The chair has humiliated himself by taking recourse to its ruling on moving a resolution during the budget session and giving no weight to the Wednesday’s verdict,” he said.
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