Budget kerfuffle throws Punjab PA into chaos

Governor prorogues budget session to resummons it at Aiwan-e-Iqbal today; speaker refuses to comply

LAHORE:

Punjab on Tuesday plunged into another constitutional crisis, as the provincial assembly was summoned separately by Governor Balighur Rehman and Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, both on Wednesday (today) afternoon but at different places.

The unfolding political drama is another low in the ongoing deadlock between the treasury and the opposition over the presentation of the provincial budget. The budget, which was scheduled to be unveiled on Monday in the Punjab Assembly, has yet to be presented.

On Monday, the opposition scuppered the government’s attempt to present the budget in the assembly. On Tuesday, the deadlock on bringing the provincial chief secretary and inspector general police (IGP) to official gallery persisted for the second consecutive day.

With no amicable resolution in sight, the Punjab governor prorogued the budget session and re-summoned a new session at Aiwan-e-Iqbal at 2pm on June 15 (today). However, Speaker Elahi refused to accept the governor’s order and summoned the session at 1pm at the provincial assembly on Wednesday (today).

Earlier in the provincial assembly, both sides appeared in no mood to show any flexibility in their respective stances despite several rounds of talks between the treasury and the opposition benches.

Throughout the day, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers were adamant that the two top officials in provincial government must be present in the assembly for the start of the budget session.

Similarly, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also stayed adamant not to accept Speaker Elahi’s contention that the two “officials must be present in official gallery” to start the session.

The session was scheduled to begin at 1:00pm but instead it reconvened 9:42pm, with Speaker Elahi in the chair. it was an embarrassing situation for the speaker, when he invited thrice to Sardar Awais Laghari to present the budget but he declined.

“I am sharing [this] public information that the Governor Punjab has prorogued this session,” Laghari said, addressing the speaker. Amid sloganeering of shame, shame from the PML-N’s lawmakers, Laghari added that it was “no shame for anyone I just updated the speaker”.

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Meanwhile, PML-N’s Attaullah Tarar, who was removed from the session by the speaker, terming him “a stranger in the house”, signalled Leghari to leave the house. Sooner, Leghari left the dais, as the PML-N chanted slogans against the PTI.

As the PML-N’s lawmakers were leaving the house, the speaker took notice of Tarar’s presence and called him twice, but Tarar ignored the speaker’s call and continued walking. After the PML-N lawmakers left the house, Elahi adjourned the session till 1pm Wednesday (today).

Before the session, several rounds of talks between the ruling PML-N and Speaker Elahi and the PTI lawmakers failed to produce any headway in the deadlock. Most of the members from both the treasury and opposition benches were also uncertain about what would happen next.

There was lots of gossiping among the assembly members. However, the situation heated up, when Tarar, who had been ousted from assembly entered the house again amid sloganeering from both sides, for and against him.

Outside the assembly, both sides blamed each other for the deadlock. “We want to present the budget but the PTI is insisting on presenting the chief secretary and the IGP first,” Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz Sharif said, while talking to media persons.

“Everyone will see that we well get the budget passed and we will bring them [opposition] to task,” he said. “The speaker as well as the PTI’s conduct of preventing the government from presenting the budget is tantamount to depriving the public of their rights,” he added.

“I did not bother what an embarrassing situation they will create for me. I sacrificed my ego and went into the House but even then the speaker did not allow the government to present the budget,” the chief minister stated.

Talking to media, Tarar said that “no one could stop us from presenting the budget” in the interest of the general public. He criticised the PTI and the Speaker Elahi’s conduct, saying that they made every efforts to deprive the people of Punjab from having the budget.

On the other hand Opposition Leader Sibtain Khan asked “why the chief secretary and the IGP’s presence is not being ensured”, if the PML-N really cared for the people of the province. He added that the PTI would take back its demand if Hamza accepted his defeat.

Former provincial minister Aslam Iqbal also endorsed Sibtain Khan’s view. “We are at loss to understand why these officials are not being presented,” Aslam Iqbal said. “The PML-N is responsible for not running the business of the assembly.”

Former law minister Raja Basharat said that the deputy speaker chairing the proceedings in the presence of speaker was a sheer violation of the assembly rules. He also claimed that a unanimous resolution was required to hold the session outside the assembly premises.

Later, Speaker Elahi also questioned the re-summoning of the budget session by the governor, saying that any such session would have no constitutional authenticity. “It is illegal session summoned at Aiwan-e-Iqbal,” he said.

The speaker pointed out that it was not the matter of assembly members alone, as “there are assembly secretaries and other staff, so wherefrom the PML-N will bring them and how the PML-N will be in a position to hold the session without them”, he asked.