LAHORE: Members of the Punjab Assembly from across the political divide have got united to seek better perks and privileges.

At least 170 MPAs, belonging to the ruling PML-N as well as PTI, PPP, PML-Q and JI, on Thursday submitted a bill to the assembly secretariat aimed at increasing their salaries by at least three times to meet, what they called, rising inflation.

Know more: Lawmakers unite for better pay and perks

They argued that their salaries had not been enhanced in the last six years but a raise had already been made in the perks of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies’ members.

MPAs, including those from PTI, seek threefold pay raise

Ironically, the PTI claims that its legislators from Punjab had resigned from their seats and sent their resignations to the speaker. But many of them have signed the bill, implying that they were against the resignation policy of the party.

A day back, the MPAs, with one voice, had sought blue passports for themselves.

One fails to recall if the lawmakers had ever crossed the party lines to demand better salaries for government servants or private sector employees.

As far as their performance in the house is concerned, it can be gauged from the Thursday’s proceedings when both Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal and Zakat & Ushr minister Malik Nadeem Kamran were seen ‘urging’ the members not to put up any ‘hard’ supplementary question.

The speaker told treasury’s Bao Akhtar that as some foreign dignitaries were sitting in the visitors’ gallery, the MPA should not come up with a hard question while parliamentary secretary for food Ch Asadullah was already facing trouble in responding to the legislators’ queries.

The foreigners, belonging to a UK NGO, had come to meet Education Minister Rana Mashhood who was absent from his chamber. The minister’s staff first took the guests to the speaker’s chamber.

Malik Nadeem Kamran, a former food minister who was guiding Ch Asadullah, signaled MPA Kazim Ali Peerzada not to ask any question when the latter was about to do so.

Mr Peerzada complained to the chair that the minister was ‘bullying’ him on making a query.

Submission of wrong replies to the members’ queries also continued as an irritated speaker summoned the additional food secretary and cane commissioner to his chambers for allegedly submitting incorrect information to a question by Sardar Shahabudddin about the use of sugarcane cess.

Starting 50 minutes behind schedule, the session witnessed thin attendance. Only 12 lawmakers, out of the total strength of 367, were present at the start and 23 at the end of the sitting. The session continued for 2.45 hours.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2014