Strength in numbers: ‘Majority’s authority’ trumps censure motion against speaker

Khuhro’s resolution condemning the attitude of opposition members passed

KARACHI:

It seems to be the season of walkouts and protests in the Sindh Assembly. In keeping with what has apparently become a burgeoning trend in the current session, the opposition parties staged the fifth walk-out of the session on Tuesday.

This time, the contention was the attitude of speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, who according to the opposition, had flouted the assembly's rules by favouring the treasury bench.

Opposition members, who had tabled a censure motion against Durrani on Friday, attempted to speak on the issue, but the government had other plans. Instead of hearing the opposition members' plea, the government moved another motion condemning the objectionable remarks, behaviour and use of non-parliamentary language against the speaker.

Moving the out-of-turn motion, senior minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro condemned the attitude of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Paksitan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Muslim League - Functional (PML-F) lawmakers. He, however, exempted the Muttahida Qaumi Movement MPAs and its opposition leader, Khawaja Izharul Hasan, who had led the protest against the speaker.

Soon after the question-answer session, opposition MPAs belonging to the PML-F and PML-N sought the deputy speaker, Shehla Raza's attention towards their censure motion against Durrani. Raza, who was chairing the proceedings, nodded and assured to give them time, but allowed Khuhro to speak.

Khuhro requested the speaker to relax all relevant rules to allow him to move a motion.  This irked the opposition members who started a protest. "Wait, wait. I will also give you a chance. Majority is authority," said the deputy speaker.

The anger reflected on Khuhro's face. Undeterred by the ruckus in the assembly, he read out the motion aloud. "This assembly condemns the objectionable remarks, behaviour and use of non-parliamentary language by Mohammad Sheharyar Khan Mahar, MPA Nand Kumar Nusrat Bano Seher Abbasi of PML-F, Khurrum Sher Zaman of PTI, Liaquat Jatoi of PML-N and others belonging to opposition against honourable speaker Agha Siraj Durrani while he was presiding over the assembly on Friday," he read.

The deputy speaker, without wasting time, put the motion in the house, which was adopted with a majority vote, amid shouts of "No, no, shame, shame, go corruption go," by the opposition.

"We have also moved motion. If you are really following democratic norms, please take up our censure motion," said MQM MPA Mohammad Hussain. The deputy speaker, giving him a chance, said: "I give you a chance. It is the assembly's discretion to pass or reject it." Hussain sought the speaker's permission to move the opposition's joint motion against the speaker.

The assembly rejected the motion with the majority votes of the treasury bench. This led the opposition to protest inside the session and later stage a token walkout. All the opposition members left the assembly hall, with the exception of two PML-F lawmakers, Mehtab Akbar Rasdhi and Imtiaz Shaikh, who waited inside the session to move their private bills on the agenda.

After this, the deputy speaker prorogued the session for an indefinite time.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2015.