LAHORE, Nov 25: Only parliament is authorized to introduce any amendment to the Constitution, says Punjab PML-Q president Pervaiz Elahi.

He was talking to newsmen in his chamber after administering oath to the MPAs-elect here on Monday.

The PML-Q nominee for the slot of chief minister said: “the Constitution clearly indicates that the powers to amend it rest with the National Assembly and Senate, while the Supreme Court can only interpret the law.”

The former speaker of the Punjab Assembly, however, said that he did not allow the members to discuss the Legal Framework Order on the floor under the rules.

As amending the Constitution was the prerogative of parliament, the LFO issue must be taken up there and not in any provincial assembly, he added.

Mr Pervaiz, while presiding over the assembly session, had assured the MPAs-elect that they were taking oath under the 1973 Constitution that excluded the LFO.

Explaining his rather harsh attitude towards the opposition members before and after the oath-taking ceremony, he said as the custodian of the house it was his responsibility to maintain the sanctity of the house.

“Irresponsible behaviour of the legislators had in the past heavily damaged the country’s institutions and even today a member was trying to commit the same mistake by indulging in personal affairs,” he said.

Mr Pervaiz said he had run the house under the rules and wanted all the members also to take care of them for any lapse in this regard would weaken the institution which would be unfortunate.

He also criticized MMA parliamentary leader Asghar Gujjar for not taking oath and instead walking out of the house.

“Mr Gujjar has deceived the house and hurt its sanctity by deciding that he will not take oath. His speech on the floor was that of a stranger.”

About allocating ministries to the MPAs of the PPP and the PML-N who had reportedly switched over to the PML-Q, he said the issue would be decided after consulting all the friends.

He, however, made it clear that the size of the cabinet would not be extraordinary.