Local govt bill passed amid opposition walkout

All amendments proposed by PML-N rejected

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly passed the new local government bill on Tuesday amid protests and a walkout from the opposition. All amendments proposed by the PML-N led opposition were rejected.

The opposition failed to introduce its desired amendments in a timely manner. It had been allowed to propose some amendments due to the discretionary powers exercised by PA Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Tuesday. As the minister for law and parliamentary affairs Raja Basharat moved the bill for consideration and passage, PML-N’s Waris Shad opposed it. Basharat Raja said the opposition could not propose its amendments on time as they were to be presented within three days of the standing committee report.

The minister added that therefore, the proposed amendments of the opposition would now be considered against the order of the house as the report was laid on Friday. He pointed out that PML-N could not present its amendment within the specified time of three days.

When Elahi asked the opposition why it failed to propose the amendments on time, the party’s Malik Ahmed Khan said they weren’t provided a copy of the report laid in the House.

“We were given the copy of the report after 6pm on Friday and our MPAs had left by that time. I tried to contact you,” he told the speaker, “but you were not available and therefore we couldn’t move the amendments on time,” said Malik Ahmed.

Elahi said the amendments had lapsed, but he would grant the opposition an opportunity to speak about the bill.  Criticising the opposition, law minister Raja Basharat said that they were merely creating a hue and cry. The minister added the LG bill had been introduced in the house and PML-N was trying to give the impression that its suggestions were being bulldozed. “It is a wrong impression that the opposition is being bulldozed as we held deliberations for 14 long hours over three days with the Standing Committee of the Local Government. Basharat continued that MPAs of the opposition were also present during the meetings.

He also claimed certain amendments were made to the bill, based on the opposition’s suggestion. “We abolished the clause of education eligibility for mayors and deputy mayors and the tenure of local bodies was also decreased from five to four years.” He said these changes were made to build a consensus on the legislation.

Speaker Elahi said that he always tried to accommodate the opposition, but its MPAs use foul and derogatory language against him. He accused PML-N’s Samiullah Khan of labelling him the SHO of a police station when he ran the affairs of the house.

Samiullah tried to respond to the speaker, but wasn’t given the floor. This caused the PML-N leader to repeat the derogatory remarks he had used in the past. “Don’t try to be the SHO of a police station,” he said. Elahi also threatened to suspend his membership for a day, but later moved on.

Speaking about the bill, Malik Ahmed said it was “bad legislation” and went against the basic sprit of the constitution. “Article 140 A of the Constitution of Pakistan talks about establishing the local government, not dissolving it.”

He added that the government introduced the bill in haste, from the standing committee to the table, in just 48 hours without hearing the grievances of stakeholders. “We demand that the government not threaten the security of the tenure of incumbent LG representatives and not pass this bill in haste.”

Law minister Raja Bashrat said the newly-introduced bill would abolish the poor legislation of the previous government and that the new bill will be introduced at any cost.

“The whole city of Lahore is flooded with the banners against the local government system introduced by PML-N. “These banners were put up by the representatives of the LG system themselves,” he said.

The minister vowed that billions of rupees would be given to union councils and panchayats under the new sytem being introduced by PTI. He further stated the PML-N didn’t seem to have any problem when it abolished the LG system of 2002 with legislation created in 2013.

He went on to say the PML-N created an LG system in 2013 and held elections in 2015 on the orders of the Supreme Court. Basharat pointed out that mayors took oath in 2017 and still elections in some municipal committees were incomplete.

Later, all the amendments proposed by the opposition were rejected and this prompted its lawmakers to stage a walkout from the house. The treasury passed the bill in the absence of the opposition with a simple majority.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2019.