ISLAMABAD, March 24: The National Assembly on Monday presented a true picture of an ‘Awami Raj’ when hundreds of PPP workers and supporters kept on raising slogans from the visitors’ galleries throughout the session in which the members elected Makhdoom Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani as the country’s new prime minister with more than two-third majority.

Despite repeated requests by Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza to maintain decorum in the galleries, the charged and emotional PPP workers kept on chanting slogans like Zinda Hai BB and Jiye Bhutto.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who had specially arrived in the Parliament House to witness the proceedings, could not control his emotions and was seen wiping his tears, of course remembering his mother Benazir Bhutto. Not only Bilawal, several PPP MNAs and some of the senior PPP leaders sitting in the galleries also failed to control their emotions on this historic occasion. “Today we are missing Benazir,” said party’s information secretary and MNA Sherry Rehman with tears in her eyes after the session was prorogued by the speaker.

At one stage, the National Assembly hall which had witnessed anti-Musharraf slogans from the opposition members several times in the past, echoed with ‘Go Musharraf Go’ for a few minutes from the galleries when Mr Gilani ordered the release of all detained judges of the superior courts. Some of the MNAs, particularly those belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), also raised slogans.

During the speeches of Mr Gilani and opposition leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, PPP MNAs Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Fauzia Wahab and Qamaruz Zaman Kaira went close to the visitors’ galleries several times to ask the workers not to raise slogans, but all in vain.

Though some of the visitors and PPP senior vice-chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim showed their displeasure over the attitude of the party supporters and workers, the overall impression of the day’s proceedings remained positive as many observers termed it an indication that the parliament had now come out of the clutches of dictatorship and was in the control of the people’s representatives.

Instead of any member from the opposition benches, Mr Fahim who was also a serious contender of the prime minister’s office criticised the workers for raising slogans from the galleries. He also taunted the speaker by reminding her that it was her responsibility to maintain discipline and order in the house and galleries.

Dr Mirza replied that the people were emotional because it was the first day and that in future she would ensure discipline in the house as well as the galleries.