June 27, 2006	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 30, 1427

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QUETTA, June 26: The Balochistan Assembly on Monday approved Rs9.7 billion supplementary grants for the current fiscal year, amid opposition’s walkout against the ruling of Speaker Jamal Shah Kakar.

The opposition members, after the rejection of their two cut motions pertaining to the supplementary grants, challenged the procedure of votes needed for the approval of grants. They claimed that under Article 122 of the Constitution a majority of total members of an assembly was needed for the passage of supplementary grants.

Finance Minister Ehsan Shah rejected the claim of Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal, who had tabled cut motions, and said that according to the Constitution and traditions set forth the assemblies majority of the members present in the house were required to pass supplementary grants.

The minister said that in the National Assembly and Punjab, Sindh and the NWFP assemblies the supplementary grants were approved through majority votes of the members present in the house.

The house witnessed uproar for sometime when Mr Shah and Mr Ziaratwal exchanged hot words challenging each other’s perceptions. At last the speaker ruled that under Article 55 of the Constitution “majority votes of the members present in the house decides all matters including supplementary grants”.

The opposition members, led by Leader of the Opposition in the Balochistan Assembly Kachkol Ali, walked out of the house and termed the ruling of the chair as unconstitutional.

The protesting legislators boycotted the remaining proceedings making the task easy for the finance minister to pass the 28 supplementary grants.

The house passed four supplementary grants of Rs8.3 billion for development expenditures and 22 supplementary grants of Rs1.4 billion for non-development expenditures.

The speaker after passage of the grants said that 34 members were present in the house that was majority of the total members of the assembly and adjourned the session till Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in the chamber of the opposition leader, Mr Ziaratwal said that the speaker violated the Constitution for allowing the passage of the supplementary grants through votes of majority members present in the house.