July 03, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 28, 1429

LAHORE, July 2: The oath-taking of 11 MPAs-elect to the Punjab Assembly will cost the provincial kitty millions of rupees as the house is meeting for this ‘sole purpose’ here on Thursday (today) evening.

The MPAs were elected in the byelection held on June 26, and the Election Commission issued their notifications on July 1.

The MPAs, except ministers, are entitled to a total remuneration of Rs2,550 per head a day for attending the session as well as three days before and as many after each session, even if it is a one-day affair.

However, for the oath-taking the house is not being requisitioned anew as the Assembly Secretariat officials say that after approval of the supplementary budget this Saturday (June 28), the chair, being held by Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood Khan, had adjourned proceedings of the budget session sine die. It means that the provincial legislators will be entitled to get all the perks and remuneration for the four days between June 28 and July 3 as adjournment sine die means the house is in session even if no business has been transacted in the house during the period.

Thus, the taxpayers will have to pay over Rs3.61 million for that period just to their elected members as it does not include the cost to be paid to the assembly staff for extra duty.

It is learnt that Thursday being the private members’ day, the government is not tabling any business in the house.

Besides the oath-taking, the other business thus is confined to five resolutions, one of them about Kalabagh Dam, by private members and the routine proceedings – Question Hour (the department for the day will be education), and moving adjournment or privilege motions, if any, by the members.

Then the proceedings are most likely to be prorogued as the government has no other business ready for tabling in the house for its approval.

The government could have saved the amount by delaying the oath-taking process to some next session when it would have readied some business (tabling of new laws) for it.

However, as a political observer puts it, the rising differences between the coalition partners in the Punjab government is causing the PML-N to improve its numerical strength in the house as early as possible so that in case of a breakdown of the alliance it may retain its government on its own.

According to the party position before the bypolls, the PML-N had 168 members in the Punjab Assembly. It had secured nine more seats in the bypolls while two are independents who have won against PPP candidates in Jehanian and Muzaffargarh and they may, following in the footsteps of 25 of the independents returned in the general election, join the PML-N.

Even then the party will need support of around half a dozen turncoats, or forward bloc members, for securing a simple majority of 186 MPAs to remain in power.