LAHORE: The opposition boycotted the Punjab Assembly session on Monday to protest against the chief minister for not allocating development funds to its members.

Unlike the past occasions, the speaker avoided sending someone from the treasury to bring the opposition members back.

Opposition Leader Mahmoodur Rasheed said the provincial government was disrespecting the people who had given votes to the opposition MPAs. “A year has gone by but the PML-N government has not bothered to give funds to the opposition legislators. It is an insult to the people of their (MPAs) constituencies,” he said.

Mr Rasheed also regretted that the government had included the PML-N defeated candidates in the district coordination committees at the cost of the elected ones. He said the PML-N leaders were not tired of talking democracy but their attitude was not democratic.

He warned that the opposition would not let the speaker run the house even during the budget session if their grievances were not redressed.

Deputy Speaker Sher Ali Gorchani, who was in the chair, did not bother to send someone from the treasury to bring the opposition members back.

Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told the house in the absence of the opposition that he had arranged the meeting of the opposition members with the chief minister over the funds’ issue. The opposition leader refused to meet the chief minister but the other opposition parties – PML-Q, PPP and Jamaat-i-Islami – members met the chief minister and discussed the issue.

Rana Sanaullah said the MPAs had no privilege to be given development funds directly. They submit development schemes and funds are issued accordingly.

During the Question Hour, Parliamentary Secretary Social Welfare Ilays Ansari disclosed that it had not received a single application for marriage grants from Baitul Maal prompting the opposition members to ask how this could be possible.

Dr Nosheen Hamid of the PTI and PPP’s Faiza Malik expressed their surprise over the parliamentary secretary’s disclosure saying thousands of such applications were filed every month. There must be some issue at the end of the department concerned which should be looked into. Even the treasury member, Anees Qureshi, criticised the department over the issue.

The house adopted the Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan Bill 2014 in the absence of the opposition.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2014