The 30th session of the Punjab Assembly has been quite different from the previous ones as lawmakers from the PTI-led treasury benches appeared to be playing the role of opposition on several issues.
Most lawmakers from the ruling parties, along with Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, were at loggerheads with their own government over its conduct.
While the political temperature of the assembly chambers was hot, the atmosphere in the lobby remained confusing.
Price hike, measures taken and planned by the government against Covid-19 and several other issues did not come into focus in detail in the assembly but in the lobby the lawmakers were seen discussing the future of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.
During the assembly proceedings, Speaker Pervaiz Elahi wanted to bring legislation on Rescue 1122, a project which the PML-Q’s provincial government had initiated in the past, but the PTI-led government seemed hesitant to make it a part of the agenda in a hurry.
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At one stage, the speaker adjourned the session in protest against the
government not tabling the bill for approval of the assembly.
He pointedly told Punjab Law Minister Basharat Raja, “I know how the bills are brought on agenda and got passed.”
Finally, the government had to surrender before the speaker and put the bill on the agenda. It was passed by the legislators despite the minister having stated earlier that the legislation required some work and would be put on the House agenda after adopting due process.
In another sitting of the ongoing session, the term “consensus” seemed to dominate a debate in assembly rather than the “Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab 1997” when the opposition pointed out lack of quorum but Mian Muhammad Shafi, who was presiding over the proceedings as a member of the panel of chairpersons, continued running the House rather than directing the staff to ring the bells for five minutes.
This gave the government an opportunity to meet the required number of lawmakers in the House.
In the assembly’s lobby, a smile was a common feature during discussions between the treasury as well as opposition members about what might happen next in the province’s politics. Some seemed presenting arguments in favour of
CM Buzdar and some against him.
Some members were of the view that no major change was likely in the provincial set-up, while some predicted that Elahi could be the next CM.
There were also rumours about the name of Law Minister Raja being under consideration for the post.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2021.
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