How well did Punjab PA fare in 2021?

The gulf between the government and the opposition in Punjab Assembly remained as wide as ever in the year 2021 which meant that the parliamentary system failed to meet the expectations of the electorates. 

Attempts by the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, to mediate between the government and the opposition on various issues remained unsuccessful. Due to the lack of interest of the government, the parliamentary system was stalled.

The House, which is supposed to be the voice of the people of Punjab, could not meet that very objective.

Members of the Assembly remained engaged in fighting for their particular interests. One of the most pressing problems confronting the people was inflation, and yet it was not given the importance that it deserved.

However, the legislators unanimously passed a resolution to increase their own personal allowances commensurate with the rising rate of inflation. On this occasion, neither the government nor the opposition thought about the people who are committing suicide because of starvation.

The cold war between the government and the opposition continued throughout the year. However, before the end of the year, due to the efforts of the Speaker, some backdoor contacts started between the government and the opposition on activating the standing committees of the Punjab Assembly and making opposition leader Hamza Shahbaz Sharif chairman of the PAC, but once again with the intervention of the prime minister, this move could not be a success.

The year 2021 happened to be the fourth parliamentary year of the government in which a total of five sessions were held in which 13 bills were introduced by the government out of which nine bills were passed while seven private bills were introduced in the House. Four of which were approved by the Punjab Assembly. This year, when the privileges of the members of the Assembly were violated, nine privileges were submitted to the Assembly Secretariat and five  were handed over to the committee out of which only two were heard while 105 adjournment motions were filed out of which 62 were disposed of by the House.

One-hundred-and-thirty-seven resolutions had been presented in the Punjab Assembly out of which only five were passed. Inflation has made the life of the people of the province very difficult, but their elected representatives had had no idea about the rights of the poor people. They unanimously approved the resolution of inflation allowances, preferring their own interests over the public interest. They will now get Rs5,000 inflation allowance and Rs600,000 annual travel allowance.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said that in 2021, there had been full activities of the Assembly, and the Assembly sessions were also held under corona SOPs. The performance of the Assembly will be further improved in the coming year, and record legislation will be enacted. He said that the new building of the Punjab Assembly, which was being constructed during his tenure as chief minister, became operational.

Chaudhry Parvez Elahi said that being an ally of the ruling party, the members of his party had played a vital role in legislation and other matters of the assembly.

On the other hand, Provincial Law Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja said that record legislation had been enacted in these three years of PTI government. The overall performance of the Punjab Assembly had been much better than in the past.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2022.