In the 21 days of the 23rd session of the Punjab Assembly (PA), a total of 11 bills were passed, four of which were passed on Thursday. After the 23rd session was prorogued the opposition vowed to submit a requisition in the PA Secretariat to seek another session.
The house passed four bills, three of which were not even on the agenda for the day. The Qarshi University, Muridke, Bill 2011 was the one slated for the day.
Under notice by Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, the PA’s Rules of Procedure were suspended thrice to pass another three bills, Punjab Local Governments (Amendment) Bill 2011, Punjab Laws (Amendment) Bill 2011 and Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment) Bill2011.
During the total of 21 days of Assembly sessions, most days were spent in bickering and desk thumping. The opposition boycott allowed the treasury bench to quickly pass 11 bills.
Yesterday’s session started at 11 am, an hour later than its scheduled time of 10 am, with Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhud in the chair.
The joint opposition boycotted the session on account of the quarrel between MPAs Sheikh Alauddin and Samina Khawar Hayat on March 30. The current session of the PA completed the mandatory 100 days in a parliamentary year.
During Question Hour regarding the Agriculture Department, Pakistan Peoples Party deputy parliamentary leader, Shaukat Mahmood Basra, joined the proceedings and sought permission to speak on a point of order. Mashhud refused to give him permission. Basra, nonetheless, said that the treasury was showing a dictatorial attitude.
He said in a breach of parliamentary tradition there was no serious effort to persuade and bring back the opposition.
Mashhud informed Basra that the speaker had formed a committee in this regard on March 30.
The committee members had informed the house that the opposition was not willing to join the session till Alauddin apologised or his entry to the house was banned for the remainder of the session.
Basra then pointed out quorum but when a count was held, the requirement of quorum was met. Basra walked out amid raised slogans against him.
MPA Pervaiz Rafiq, rising on a point of order, asked whether the house could advertise the disappearance of the chief minister (CM). He said the house should know the whereabouts of the chief minister.
Kaira said that he did not know the whereabouts of the CM either and the CM should follow the decorum of the house.
The house also passed two resolutions, one regarding celebrating 2011 as the year of Pak-China friendship and the other about the immediate withdrawal of the 17 per cent tax on the agriculture sector.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 01st, 2011.
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