vendors, which was originally the responsibility of the district government. He reiterated his demand for a special audit of funds given to towns and district governments by the Punjab government, taunting that this demand would be rejected as the political workers of PML-N were serving on these posts.
After his requests of additional time to speak on the floor being denied by the Speaker, the PTI MPA called for quorum in the House after which he and other opposition members proceeded to walk out from the Assembly. The quorum was filled after a five minute break and the opposition returned from its brief walkout.
PML-N MPA Mian Tariq Mehmood blasted the opposition for not respecting the Speaker’s authority and decorum in the House. The MPA said recommendations were necessary and not blanket criticism of this year’s budget. Mehmood proceeded to narrate an entire list of achievements by the government including the supposed eradication of dengue under the leadership of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
PTI MPA Dr Murad Rass called for an end to comparisons between the government led by his party in KPK province and PML-N’s domination of Punjab over the last 25 years. Rass claimed that bureaucrats had fudged the figures given in the budget on the behest of the government to hide underutilisation of funds and misappropriation of funds. Bribes are needed if a patient wants a bed or facility in Lahore Services Hospital, he further claimed. He criticised the government for handing over so many vital projects including cleaning of cities to Turkey instead of a local company and the setting up of Ramazan bazaars throughout the province.
PML-N MPA Muhammad Islam Askan while praising the Annual Budget called for the CM to allocate the promised funds for Cholistan Development Authority to develop the infrastructure, irrigation, and livestock sector of surrounding Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and Bahawalnagar. He requested a government male and girls college be set up in his constituency in Rahim Yar Khan, that every tehsil and district headquarters receive equal share of funds, a comprehensive policy for purchase of wheat, and an end to agricultural income tax.
PML-Q MPA Khadija Umar lamented that Punjab Murree House had received 4.3 million under the supplementary budget and the Punjab House in Karachi had received huge funding despite the CM, Punjab not availing it this year. She demanded an audit of head money given to policemen in awards by the government and criticised the 7.2 million rupeesspent on kitchens and toilets for three officers of the Finance Department. She asked why the Prime Minister needed 2.1 million rupees for the expenses of Jati Umra residence and 400 million rupees for entertainment under the supplementary budget in addition to 200 million rupees for gifts to foreign dignitaries.
PML-N MPA Sheikh Allaudin said whereas the Federal government under Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had accepted amendments from the opposition, the Punjab government had not made any changes in its Annual Budget. He criticised the government for a high Umrah fee and new taxes on visa processing. PPP Parliamentary Leader Qazi Ahmed Saeed also criticised the expenditure on Jati Umra and CM Secretariat.
The House broke into a ruckus when PML-N MPA Sheikh Ejaz Ahmed called out PTI for ineffective governance in KPK, failed container politics, and the nonchalant attitude of KPK CM Pervaiz Khattak after floods ravaged the province. PTI MPAs chanted Go Nawaz Go slogans and Mian Aslam Iqbal demanded that the speech focus on the budget and not politics. Ahmed proceeded to wind up his speech with a poem met by applause from the treasury benches.
The House will resume on Friday (today).