November 25, 2008	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 26, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 24: Annoyed by a minister’s poor and ill-prepared questions and supplementary questions in the Sindh Assembly on Monday, leader of the opposition in the house Jam Madad Ali said it was for the chief minister to ensure that any minister responding to queries during the question hour on behalf of the minister concerned came fully prepared in order to satisfy questioners.

He was speaking at a press conference in his chamber after the day’s deliberations. Jam Madad said that if the chief minister could not ensure this, the question hour should better be deferred to some other day in case the minister concerned was not available to answer the questions pertaining to his department.

He also referred to the angry tone of Law Minister Ayaz Soomro who was replying to opposition members’ questions on behalf of Food Minister Mir Nadir Ali Magsi, and said he had drawn the speaker’s attention to certain ministers’ attitude who would get angry while replying to the questions and supplementary questions raised by the opposition members.

The opposition leader particularly mentioned the attitude of Revenue Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, alleging that he responded harshly to a question asked by NPP member Arif Mustafa Jatoi.

Jam Madad also condemned police excesses against protesting ad-hoc lecturers outside the assembly building, and supported the views of MQM Minister Shoaib Bokhari, who favoured the lecturers’ demand for the regularisation of their jobs and drew the speaker attention to the relevant act passed by the house in 2005 that provided the basis for the regularisation of ad-hoc doctors despite their failure to pass the test.

In reply to a question, Jam Madad said that the opposition had submitted four resolutions with the assembly secretariat for inclusion in the balloting for the Tuesday session’s agenda. The Tuesday session will be a private members’ day.

The resolutions, he added, pertained to the implementation of a rotation system in the supply of irrigation water, the opposition’s reservations over the moves for the privatisation of Qadirpur gas fields, delayed start of sugarcane crushing season and Pasco’s failure to procure rice and paddy from growers.