A break from tradition: respect for decorum in PA

The Punjab chief minister set a new record on Wednesday by participating in the eighth consecutive assembly session.

The session started late at 11:45am with speaker Rana Iqbal Khan in the chair. The supplementary budget of Rs153.5 million was presented in the House.

Shahbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader Chaudhry Zaheerud Din engaged in a relentless battle of accusations and rebuttals. The CM obsessed over the follies of Pervaiz Elahi’s government while Zaheerud Din picked the PML-N apart. However in a striking and refreshing contrast to recent assembly sessions, both men managed to keep their calm and disagree with each other in a dignified manner.

MPA Sanaullah Mastikhail called their exchange ‘Shikwa’ and ‘Jawab-e-Shikwa’, much to the amusement of other members.

The CM participated in the session for over an hour and as soon as he left, most members gradually cleared out until there were only 12 left in the House.

Chaudhry Zaheerud Din criticised the CM’s stance and objected to his accusing the former government of corruption without offering substantial evidence.

“The PML-N criticises Musharraf yet it participated in both elections supervised by him. It makes no difference if you contest an election with or without black arm bands. Both the PPP and the PML-N took oath under the dictatorship of Pervaiz Musharraf, thereby accepting him as the president. They have no right to criticise him now. They speak of transparency, but in reality, there is no such thing”, stated Chaudhry Zaheerud Din.

The leader of the opposition went on to add that the CM was spearheading an ‘austerity drive’ while in fact Rs7 million were being spent on the construction of Punjab House in Murree. He added that the former government had initiated, completed and inaugurated various development projects but the current government did not have the courage to give credit where it was due.

Zaheerud Din also expressed his reservations on the inspection team set up by the CM to probe the lavish expenditure incurred on the renovation of the palatial residences of civil bureaucrats.

The opposition leader invited boisterous laughs and persistent desk-drumming from most members as he attempted to distance the PML-Q from Musharraf’s regime. He stated, “We were elected in 2002 so we can not be held responsible for anything that happened between 1999 and 2002”.

In his  defence Shahbaz Sharif stated that he had banned construction in Murree because the former government was developing it as a pigeon loft. He explained that in 1998 foreign engineers, who had surveyed Murree, had submitted a report advising the government to halt construction. He stated that Pervaiz Elahi had recklessly decided to disregard the report. He further stated that he would investigate the allegation that Rs7 million were still being used in the area and inform the assembly as soon as he had details.

Blowing his own trumpet, he added that not a single tree was chopped during the demolition of illegal plazas. Shahbaz Sharif stated that it had taken his government two years to clean the mess left behind by Musharraf. He added that the Punjab government could now shift its attention to development and the welfare of the people. Zulfiqar Khosa of the PML-N criticised the speaker for allowing the opposition member to constantly question the chief minister.

MPA Hassan Murtaza of the PPP addressing the House on a point of order drew attention to the splurging of public money by District Management Group (DMG) officials. Harshly criticizing the VIP treatment given to the ‘owners of the province’ the MPA pointed out that Rs3-8 million were spent on allotting massive mansions to the officials.

Hassan stated that such officials were gnawing at the root of the nation like ‘termite’. He demanded that a House committee should be established specifically for the purpose of monitoring the wastage of public money on such individuals.

Before the session was adjouirned for Thursday, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah mentioned that the CM had set up an inspection team solely for the purpose. He stated that it was not appropriate to call its credibility into question.

Raja Riaz also expressed his dissatisfaction at the way the Punjab government was tackling the issue and relying on bureaucrats over elected representatives.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2010.