KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly session on Friday turned into a protest day when almost all parliamentary parties’ lawmakers in the House recorded their protest on different issues.

Even Deputy Speaker Syeda Shehla Raza in a way recorded her protest by adjourning the House for 10 minutes before taking up the formal business from the order of the day when PPP lawmaker Ghulam Qadir Chandio, instead of paying heed to her advice to get seated, insisted that he be allowed to respond to ‘inappropriate’ remarks of PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry against PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

After almost over 20 minutes when the House reassembled, slogans of “Go Nawaz go,” and “shame, shame” echoed, warnings were issued to the PML-N leadership to ‘behave’, the judiciary was advised to exercise Articles 62-63 of the Constitution to rid the nation of ‘corrupt’ rulers, while the House also saw a walkout by PML-N lawmaker Sorath Thebo when she was not allowed to speak soon after the hard-hitting speeches by PPP lawmakers against the PML-N leadership.

Earlier, during Question Hour, PML-F lawmaker Nusrat Sahar Abbasi lodged a severe protest over use of ‘non-parliamentary’ and ‘inappropriate’ words and warned that she should not be compelled to use similar language.

The lawmaker expressed this reaction when, in response to a question regarding the works and services department, its minister, Imdad Pitafi, said no government building was damaged during 2012-13.

The situation turned ugly when the PML-F lawmaker on a supplementary question had asked the minister to read out the question concerned.

The minister refused to read the question and told her if she could not understand the question, she should come to his chamber and he would read it out to her.

MPA Abbasi lodged a severe protest over this.

She said: “Why don’t you ask your mother and sisters to come to the chamber. If all business could be performed from the chamber, then the session should also be called in the chamber. Why words were used with double meaning to call women in the chamber? We fully realise the meaning of the words. Why such attitude is meted out to ladies?”

The deputy speaker tried to calm her down.

Then Ms Abbasi asked another supplementary question.

Imdad Pitafi, in response to another supplementary question, said if there was an objection to the word ‘chamber’, he would reply to the question tomorrow in the House.

Ghulam Qadir Chandio, who got the floor after the Question Hour and call attention notices, before speaking on a point of order, offered regrets to the chair over his earlier behaviour due to high emotions.

Senior Minister Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, Minister Shamim Mumtaz, Khairunnisa Mughal and Taimoor Talpur in their speeches recalled that Bilawal Bhutto was “Aankhon ka tara” of hundreds of millions of people and the use of ‘absurd’ language against him was quite shameful.

“We could also respond in the same language, but our leadership had stopped us.”

Khairunnisa Mughal said PML-N leaders were busy in “hiding corruption of their prime minister”.

While the deputy speaker repeatedly asked to expunge all inappropriate words from the speeches, Senior Minister Khuhro said it had hurt the feelings of members.

He recalled that the prime minister, speaking a ‘lie’ in parliament, termed his speech ‘political’.

The session also witnessed strong protest over power and gas load-shedding in Sindh.

MQM-MPA Rana Ansar speaking on her point of order said that due to gas load-shedding life of people had become miserable. Electricity load-shedding for 12 hours was causing hardship, she added.

Nusrat Sahar Abbasi, speaking on her point of order, demanded public hanging for the ‘killers’ behind the ‘suicide’ of Sindh University student Naila Rind.

She said by installing secret cameras in rooms of the educational institutions, women students were being blackmailed.

Nisar Khuhro endorsed the feelings of the lawmaker.

Regretting the incident, he informed the House that an FIR had been lodged, the accused was arrested and legal proceedings and investigations were on.

He supported the demand of public hanging of the culprits.

The adjournment motion of Nusrat Sahar Abbasi, which was pertaining to the notification issued three years ago about up-gradation of the Sujawal town committee to municipal status, was opposed by Nisar Khuhro on technical grounds.

Earlier, when she was speaking on its admissibility PPP MPA Taimoor Talpur started raising his voice and talking to other colleagues.

She demanded the deputy speaker to maintain order in the House.

The deputy speaker endorsed the lawmaker’s complaint saying that some mysterious voices were being heard in the House but she did not identify any person.

The House, which was called to order at 11.10am, after completion of the agenda was adjourned at 2pm to meet on Monday at 10 am.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2017