LAHORE, March 7: The opposition in the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday walked out of the house in protest against ‘killing’ of their bills by the treasury. The house was to take up a heavy agenda — eight bills, five resolutions and general discussion on five different matters, besides the Question Hour — on the day, which was a private members’ day.
When five out of eight bills tabled by the opposition were voted out and three others kept pending, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah Khan announced boycott of the rest of the proceedings to protest this attitude of the treasury.
“The government charges the opposition for not taking part and interest in law-making process, but when we present bills to amend and improve certain laws these are not accepted and are voted out by the treasury taking advantage of its majority in the house. We protest this behaviour by walking out of the house,” he said.
The chair, being held by deputy speaker Sardar Shaukat Husain Mazari, requested ruling PML’s Rai Ijaz Ahmad to go and bring back the opposition members who had boycotted the proceedings en masse.
However, before the opposition could return, the house was adjourned as by this time the rest of agenda, resolutions and general discussions, had been disposed of for absence of the movers.
The only resolution adopted by the house was of Advocate Misbah Kokab’s who belonged to the treasury benches. It had recommended the federal government to hand over the tombs of Mughal emperor Jahangir and his queen Nur Jehan to the Punjab government.
In contrast to today’s show, both the sides had displayed unity on Saturday last when the opposition had rallied behind leader of the house, Pervaiz Elahi, during protest against blasphemous caricatures.
DEMO: Opposition members in the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday held a demonstration at the main entrance of the building against relaxation in the kite-flying ban.
Minutes before the Zuhr prayers, the opposition came out of the house and staged the demonstration. They alleged a basant show was being organised just to entertain the authorities in Islamabad and the well-to-do.
They regretted that the provincial and district governments were apathetic to the miseries being suffered by the masses at the hands of kite-flyers using banned twine.
Later, JI leaders Liaquat Baloch, Farid Piracha and Amirul Azeem visited the house of four-year-old Shayan, who had fallen a victim to sharp string a couple of days ago.