PTI invites opposition to mend fences

Chohan says both treasury and opposition should contribute to welfare of masses

LAHORE:  

 Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Fayyazul Hassan Chohan has said it was obligatory for both the government and the opposition to keep the house peaceful and harmonious.

Speaking to the media persons on Sunday, Chohan invited Hamza Shehbaz and his party members to come and be a part of the business advisory committee. He advised the opposition they must maintain the sacredness of the house and fulfil their duties in the long-term interests of their voters.

They should meet the Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhary Parvez Elahi and contribute to the welfare of the masses. He said the PTI’s provincial government was all set to listen to their suggestion as the PTI was a real democratic party that was strongly of the opinion that both the government and the opposition would have to go side-by-side for the betterment of their voters, he added.

“Opposition under the leadership of Hamza Shehbaz must not prove their relations with dictators and dictatorship by boycotting the assembly sessions,” he maintained.

Later on, while commenting on Metro buses and Orange Line Train he was of the view that these buses were running empty on the roads of Multan. “These are indeed ‘white elephants’ and have become a burden on the economy of the province. These projects had nothing to do with the wellbeing of the people, Chohan believed. They had been initiated merely to get kickbacks and for the sake of personal publicity,” he concluded.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Punjab Minister of Housing Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed said difference of opinion or protest is the right of opposition. “We have also done opposition in provincial assembly, but never attacked the speaker at his dais or broke assembly’s furniture,” he remarked. “We peacefully registered our protest on various occasions. Contrary to democratic norms, current opposition under the leadership of Hamza Shahbaz has set a new but an ugly example during the budget session,” he maintained.

He underlined that the law was very clear about the decorum and the sanctity of the house. The opposition should respect the house and maintain discipline.

“If the opposition has reservations, they should express them in a civilised manner. Opposition’s action was very undemocratic on budget day last week,” he said.

Following a chaos created by opposition members in Punjab Assembly, the entry of six Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPAs have been banned in the provincial assembly. The provincial government has already announced to constitute a committee to probe the incident and evaluate the exact amount of property loss.

Some ruling party MPAs have also proposed that the government should recover property loss of opposition party’s MPA who were involved in creating chaos and attacking on assembly staff as they believe that barring their entry in provincial assembly is insufficient.

On the other hand, PML-N MPAs claimed that Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is playing a partial role in house’s proceedings. They said the ruling party had hatched a conspiracy against the PML-N members as the destruction caused in the assembly was shown after the house was adjourned.