LAHORE, Jan 8: The Punjab Assembly adopted on Thursday three amendment bills on the universities of Taxila, Sargodha and Rawalpindi with a majority vote of the treasury benches.
The amendments have made the governor, in his capacity as chancellor, to act on the advice of the chief minister while dealing with the matters of the universities.
The bills are The University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, The Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, and The University of Sargodha (Amendment) Bills 2003.
Under the Constitution, the governor is bound to act on the advice of the chief minister while dealing with the matters of the province. The minister for education has been made pro-chancellor through an amendment to the University of Sargodha (Amendment) Bill, 2003. The Punjab Assembly speaker has also been empowered to nominate three MPAs to its syndicate.
Opposition's amendments to the Sargodha University amendment bill were disallowed by the speaker for their delayed submission and the suggestions to circulate it for eliciting public opinion and to refer it to the select committee comprising its (opposition's) proposed 12 MPAs were voted out by the treasury.
The opposition did not, however, press for its amendments and similar proposals to the Taxila and Rawalpindi universities bills after the law minister and the speaker accepted its request to defer the University of Gujrat Bill, 2003 till Friday. The opposition was also allowed to present its related amendments to the proposed law.
Speaker Afzal Sahi earlier rejected a request by PPP MPA Shafqat Abbasi to defer the legislation because, he said, it was included in the agenda of the session late on Wednesday evening, disallowing the opposition to prepare for their proposed amendments.
Mr Sahi said that the agenda for the sitting was made after the office hours of the assembly. He, however, promised that the government would take care in such cases in future.
Law Minister Raja Basharat opposed the opposition's proposal to circulate the Sargodha university amendment bill for eliciting public opinion. He said it would not improve the law as people had never in the history of the assembly given their opinion on any law. The law had been considered by the representatives of the people (MPAs) and there was of no use to directly seek their opinion, he said.
He also opposed another proposal that the amendment bill should be referred to a select committee as the standing committee which had recommended it comprised mainly of treasury MPAs who normally towed the official line.
The law minister said that the standing committee also comprised opposition members who, too, had agreed to the bill. Had there been nay objection they could have given a dissent vote, he said.
The legislation was interrupted for five minutes after the Zohr prayers as the opposition pointed out quorum. It resumed as the treasury members rushed to the house.
The quorum was also pointed out at the beginning of the session by PPP's Raja Riaz who said the government was not able to maintain it despite having an extra large cabinet. The chief minister's secretary has been sitting in the house since Wednesday to make the treasury members attend the session but all in vain, he said.