LAHORE, Feb 25: An impromptu controversy broke out between two factions of the PPP in the Punjab Assembly on which one is the genuine follower of Ms Benazir Bhutto.

It continued for a good deal of time, though neither side budged on its claim.

It all started when Minister for Environment Makhdoom Ashfaq Ahmad of the PPP (Patriot) stood up on his own to accuse that Dr Javed from Multan had nothing to do with the PPP or Ms Bhutto.

He argued that the PPP had been founded by the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and now was being led by his daughter.

Claiming himself to be a staunch follower of Ms Bhutto, the Makhdoom said the PPP (Parliamentarians) led by Makhdoom Amin Fahim was quite a different entity.

The assertion prompted many PPP MPAs to spring up from their seats and start shouting at the minister.

The Patriots leaders were raising fingers at the Bhutto followers to shield themselves from being labelled turncoats, they said.

PPP leader Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan said the Parliamentarians had been set up with the consent of Ms Bhutto to enable the party to take part in the elections.

He said if Makhdoom Ashfaq was loyal to Ms Bhutto, he should quit his cabinet post and join her party.

Dr Javed alleged that the “P” the Rao Sikandar Iqbal followers used for Patriots, in fact, stood for (Gen) Pervez.

Law Minister Raja Basharat proposed that instead of involving in mud-slinging, the legislators of all parties should look to the future and see what positive role they could play for the nation.

Deputy Speaker Shaukat Mazari also advised against maligning each other.

Tag ministers: An MMA legislator proposed on Tuesday that members of the provincial cabinet should be “tagged” so that they could be easily identified by their fellow lawmakers.

Auqaf minister Khadim Husain Wattoo was answering questions about his department, sitting on a seat in the second row, meant for ordinary legislators. And since he was reticent in his replies, few could know who was answering questions and from where.

“Mr Speaker, tag all the ministers. They are so many in number that it is difficult for everyone to identify them. This is the only way to make it possible for the common MPA to know which minister is sitting where”, said Leiah’s Asghar Ali Gujjar.

But realizing that the turbaned auqaf minister had a longer beard than his stubble and thus was respectable leader, the MMA legislator immediately went to him to apologize for his remarks.