Punjab Assembly: Open division amendment passed as opposition boycotts vote

Election of mayor, deputy mayor will be held through open division

LAHORE: The Punjab Local Government (First Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Punjab Local Government (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, were passed on Thursday while the opposition boycotted the vote.

The amendments allow the government to divide the metropolitan and municipal corporations into a suitable number of zones. It can also increase the number of seats reserved for workers, peasants and technocrats to enhance the number of deputy mayors and vice chairmen.

The election of mayors, deputy mayors, chairmen and vice chairmen for a local government, except in case of a union council, would be held through open division. The election on seats reserved for women, peasants, workers, youth, technocrats and non-Muslims will be held through proportional representation of political parties.

The opposition members did not participate in the legislation saying that they did not want to become party to an “unfair” exercise. The speaker sent a delegation that included Provincial Minister Sher Ali to persuade opposition members to rejoin the session but they refused.

“We don’t want to become part of the legislative exercise. They [treasury bench members] have a majority in the House,” Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and Pakistan Peoples Party members told reporters in front of the assembly.

Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the government was trying to make local governments more effective. He said Green Line and Orange Line Train projects had been proposed in 1991 but could not be completed owing to political reasons.

“The federal government did not provide the sovereign guarantee during the previous tenure … the Green Line project was then converted into Metro Bus. We arranged funds for the service from our own resources,” the minister said. The PA opposition has been critical of the Orange Line Metro Train project which Sanaullah said would benefit 500,000 people a day by 2025.

On Thursday, the assembly was embroiled in a debate for a while regarding whether or not Islam permitted the sale of alcohol. The debate had started when the House was informed in answer to a question that four hotels in Lahore had a licence to sell liquor.

JI’s Syed Waseem Akhter sought details of places selling liquor.

During the question hour, Excise and Taxation Minster Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman told the House the government had received Rs725.95 million in vend fee in Lahore in 2013-2014. “Tax and the excise duty on the sale of alcoholic beverages are received under the Excise Act, 1914,” the minister said.

Akhter asked whether the money was halal, the minister said that was a separate debate. The MPA then proposed a ban on the sale of liquor.

The minister said some foreigners staying in the hotels consumed alcoholic beverages. He said no Muslim had the permit to sell liquor. He said if the House wanted fresh legislation on the issue, he had no objection to it.

PTI’s Shunila Ruth said, “Drunkenness is a sin in Christianity.” The opposition member then walked out of the session.

The session was adjourned when the agenda of the day was completed.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2016.