LAHORE: Friday’s budget session led to two rarities in the assembly: it brought massive number of members to the House that normally struggles to meet the mandatory quorum requirement of 93 and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also graced the House.

The eventful day started around 4pm, instead of 2.30pm and immediately witnessed a rumpus when the opposition, which came with black head and arm bands inscribed with “Go Nawaz go”, started shouting slogans.

The House had around 250 members. Each bench looked stuffed with more members than what it was meant for. Even the upper chamber of the House had some members sitting there. So were the Opposition desks, which normally look deserted. The strength grew when the chief minister arrived.

In fact, the opposition came with a plan and executed it well. It had the numbers and enthusiasm that lasted right till the end. Out of less than 50 total members, it had around 40 members, who were wearing black bands, shouting anti-Nawaz slogans and had brought whistles to cause a nerve-wreaking shrill in the House.

Soon after the provincial minister for finance, Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, took the rostrum, the chief minister arrived. The entire Treasury stood up and noisy desk-thumping started to welcome him. The Opposition, which was hitherto raising slogans, whipped out whistles. It must have taken a cue from the opposition in the National Assembly which had whistled through the presidential address the other day.

The House plunged into a confrontational mode when Murad Ras of the PTI, who had been tearing the budget speech into shreds and showering it on the opposition members, threw it with force enough to reach the chief minister on the other side. Zaeem Qadri, the minister for Zakat & Ushr, dashed towards him, sounding warning. But he was stopped by his Treasury colleagues, especially chief whip Rana Ijaz. The day was saved but Zaeem Qadri stayed watchful and uncomfortable on his seat, and kept complaining.

Later, Inamullah Khan also had some issue of gesturing and dashed to opposition members, who had by that time gathered in front of their seats, but was stopped mid-way by the Treasury colleagues.

The opposition also gave its protest a personal touch when all its members, standing right in the middle of the House, started physically pointing towards the chief minister and sang in chorus: “Go, Go”...

The minister for finance only prolonged the trouble for everyone with her slow reading of 32-page budget speech. It took her over two hours to complete the reading. The opposition had kept her on the edge with persistent protest and noises, but she completed the speech around 6.15pm, quickly ran through the formalities of presenting the budget in the House and the session was adjourned for Monday morning for budget debate.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2017