LAHORE, Nov 25: Not believing in the assurances given by the government on the agriculture income tax issue in the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday, members from both treasury and opposition benches demanded the chair allow them present a resolution against the ‘proposed levy’. The chair, however, deferred the matter till Wednesday (today).
PML-N’s Shahzadi Umerzadi Tawana’s resolution against ‘18 per cent’ proposed tax on the agriculture sector on the recommendation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was pended as she was not present.
The ruling ‘annoyed’ Azma Bokhari of the PPP who maintained that the chair should dispose it of and close this chapter as it was not worth discussing after the assurances given by the federal and provincial governments. She even challenged the integrity of Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhud Ahmad, who was in the chair, saying she wondered as how he was running the house. “On what lines it is being made an issue?” she asked the chair.
Waris Kalu, who joined the PML-N after winning his seat from Khushab as an independent candidate, raised the issue on a point of order and requested the chair to allow him present a resolution. When the chair denied him permission, he said Tuesday was a private members’ day, therefore, he reserved the right to present the resolution.
Kalu was supported by a number of his colleagues irrespective of their political affiliations. The chair, however, pacified them by saying that it was the issue of whole Punjab province and they would discuss it at length on Wednesday (today).
Quelling growing unease among members of the house, Senior Minister Raja Riaz maintained that no agriculture tax was being imposed and even federal law and finance ministers had clarified him over the issue.
“It is a conspiracy against the house and a resolution will only help those who are spreading rumours,” he said and added that the government had obtained the loan from the IMF on its own terms and conditions.
Supporting the stance of senior minister, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said levying tax on agriculture income was a provincial subject and, under the Constitution, the federal government had nothing to do with it.
Shaikh Allauddin of the PML-Q forward bloc pointed out that the impression was given that feudal lords were against the imposition of tax, which, he claimed, was not the case.
None of the legislators who were raising their voice over the issue did mention about the existing structure of agriculture tax in the country. The agriculture tax existed in all the provinces in the form of presumptive. Its rate was so low that less than Rs1 billion was collected across the country annually. The proposal being discussed at the power corridors was to increase that rate, he added.
Criticising the PML-N government for demolition of some buildings at the Civil Secretariat, PML-Q’s Ijaz Shafi said on a point of order that the exercise was a sheer wastage of money in acquiring rented buildings to accommodate “displaced” officials. On the one hand the provincial government was trying to provide people with Roti at Rs2 and on the other it was “lavishly” spending on useless projects, he said. He questioned the “double standards” of the provincial government. In response to this, Sanaullah said that it had to be done on the recommendation of a committee formed to pinpoint “unplanned” buildings on the secretariat premises. He said he would provide a detailed report to the house in this regard to belie Shafi’s claim.
Chair’s attention was also drawn to a disabled student, Muhammad Tayyab, who topped FSc pre-medical exams in Rahim Yar Khan Board but was denied admission. Mashhud asked the law minister to look into the matter and redress student’s grievances.
When an MPA raised the reported ‘award of extra marks’ to the daughter of chief justice of Pakistan by the federal board of intermediate and secondary education in FSc exams, the chair refused to allow debate, saying the rules of business did not permit it.
The house on Tuesday also passed four resolutions, three of them unanimously. They were about urging the federal government to thoroughly probe into the privatisation of Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited, establish a laboratory to test hepatitis at each district headquarter of the province, to ban export of copies of the Holy Quran printed on substandard paper and both the federal and provincial governments should involve all stakeholders, including farmers, in the process of fixing prices of agriculture produce.
The house disposed of two privilege motions and pended as many.
In his privilege motion, opposition leader Chaudhry Zaheeruddin pointed out that under the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, he recommended the appointment of Muhammad Basharat Raja as member of the Local Government Commission but the government had not issued a notification in this regard. On the assurance of the law minister that it would be issued within a week, the chair disposed of the motion.
General discussion on wheat crisis, education of handicapped children, training and rehabilitation of the destitute and neglected segments of society, and increasing number of breast cancer patients was put off till Wednesday as the chair wanted the provincial secretaries of the departments concerned present in the house to respond to the issues.