Punch-up session: Lawmakers come to blows over ‘heated words’

Post-budget session marred by scuffle between MQM, PPP leaders

KARACHI: A scuffle between Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmakers during the budget discussion marred the Sindh Assembly proceedings on Thursday.

The session witnessed pandemonium when the lawmakers exchanged heated words and threatened each other. The uproar started when PPP MPA Shamim Mumtaz responded to MQM MPAs who were criticising a PPP minister for transporting the money in a ferryboat.

"Most of you have talked about the money being transported via a boat. None of our ministers is involved in such a menace," she claimed. "Did someone see or recover the amount? Has this amount been found in a bedroom?" she asked. No one even talks about the money found from a house of a politician, she said. "If you talk about Dubai then we will speak about the London episode," Mumtaz warned.

This irked MQM MPA Azeem Farooqui who stood up, tore the agenda copy and shouted at Mumtaz.  Farooqui lost his temper and went to the speaker's podium, protesting against Mumtaz's words and he said some things about Benazir Bhutto. "If you talk against my leader than I will also talk against your leader [Benazir Bhutto]," he threatened.



This created pandemonium in the house, causing PPP MPA Maukesh Chawala and local government minister Jam Khan Shoro to also rush to the speaker's podium where Farooqui and other MQM MPAs was protesting. They exchanged heated words, which resulted in Shoro and Farooqui pushing and threatening each other. MQM parliamentary leader Syed Sardar Ahmed and opposition leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan tried to calm their MPAs and PPP ministers Murad Ali Shah and Dr Sikandar Mandhro did not allow their members to go towards the MQM benches.

"We were listening to you when you were leveling allegations against our ministers. So please don't lose your temper if anyone responds in the same fashion," said Shah angrily. "Azeem Farooqi is a worker and cannot tolerate if anyone talks against his leader," replied Hassan, trying to calm the situation. "We are all workers and can and do hear such derogatory language against our leadership," retorted Shah.

After a brief lull, the PPP and MQM MPAs excused each other and put aside their differences.



Budget discussion

Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz MPA Ayaz Shah Sheerazi said the PPP-led government has not released development funds to MPAs of his group for the last three years, therefore no development work has been initiated in his constituency for last three years. "There is a pathetic situation of hospitals and schools in Thatta and Sujjawal districts where patients are running after doctors for medicines and 75% of schools are lying non-functional," he alleged.

MQM's Deewan Chan Chawla placed the budget book on his head and said, "I swear that this budget is jugglery of numbers and no relief has been given to people for last three years". "How one can trust [the government] when funds allocated for the repair of mosques, temples and shrines are being bungled?" he asked. Chawla said that millions of rupees were allocated for the repair and renovation of Sadhu Bela Temple in Sukkur but officials had misappropriated this amount.

Nusrat Seher Abbasi of Pakistan Muslim League - Functional diverted attention towards agriculture sector, which, according to her, has been totally neglected by the government. "They have allocated Rs225 billion development funds in the next budget but unfortunately 75% of the budget of the agriculture sector, which is backbone of the province, has not been utilised," she claimed.

PPP's Dr Sikandar Shoro appreciated the government for presenting a Rs869 billion budget and Rs225 billion development programme and said that PPP has broken all past development records. "We have given shelters to homeless people under Shaheed Benazir Town Housing Scheme and appointed teachers purely on merit," he said, adding that opposition members were doing politics on the budget.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2016.