It’s easy to be solemn

It’s hard to be frivolous; it’s easy to be solemn. ‘Elected’ or ‘selected’ is the subject of yet another unnecessary debate the National Assembly is reverberating with these days — the kind of debates that typically take precedence over issues of national importance and those related to public wellbeing. For the government, calling the PM ‘selected’ is derogatory and akin to insulting the millions of people who voted him to the country’s top office. Opposition lawmakers, on the other hand, believe that they are duty-bound to expose the ‘political engineering’ to bring a ‘puppet’ in the PM House, and are acting in pure public interest.

It was Bilawal Bhutto who — during his maiden speech in the National Assembly on August 18, 2018 — had first referred to Imran Khan as ‘Prime Minister-select’. Since then, it’s been a favourite political slogan for the whole of the opposition and is vociferously raised in the elected houses — and outside as well — quite too often. Opposition’s mocking is customary in nature though, the PM clearly appears agitated by the defamatory prefix. For his party men too, such criticism looks too difficult to respond to. Hence a ban on the use of word ‘selected’ in the National Assembly, under a ruling from the Speaker on a privileged motion tabled by a federal minister.

This ruling from the Speaker — meant to keep order in the House — is binding on lawmakers though, there are ways to violate it pretty legally. The ruling can be fully acted upon in letter while being violated in spirit at the same time, as was done by Bilawal Bhutto and Maryam Aurangzeb through use of words like ‘chosen’ and ‘hand-picked’ — the synonyms of ‘selected’ — during their speeches in the National Assembly. After all, bans are bound to add to the tendencies to break them.

What the PTI needs to understand is that even if the ban is somehow ensured, it will only work within the four walls of the two elected houses. Therefore, the right way for the PM to silence his critics is to raise his performance, especially with regard to the economy. Has he forgotten that during his cricket days, he would let his props — bat and ball — do the talking?

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2019.

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