ISLAMABAD: A rumpus erupted during National Assembly proceedings on Wednesday over ’10 percent’ remarks of the Federal Minister Omar Ayub Khan which invited protests from the PPP Parliamentarians during debate on the country's economic conditions.
The situation became tense in the House when the federal minister while criticising the performance of the Sindh government talked about problems of the people of Larkana during the discussion on high priced items of daily use. The minister uttered the remark of ’10 percent’ inviting the wrath of the PPP parliamentarians who rushed towards the treasury benches to confront him. The bad taste over remarks from a senior cabinet member in the House was created just two days ahead of the scheduled address of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo an to a joint sitting of the Parliament on February 14 (Friday).
The otherwise decent parliamentarians Syed Naveed Qamar and Agha Rafiullah along with other PPP members also reached in front of the minister's desk. Rafiullah attempted to remove the minister's mike who signaled the PPP members to leave the place. Rafiullah also pushed the Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar when he attempted to cool him down. The PPP parliamentarians, meanwhile, retorted to tearing copies of the day's agenda. The angry PPP parliamentarian from Karachi, Agha Rafiullah also raised slogans against late Field Marshal Ayub Khan, calling him a dictator. The sensitivity of the situation forced Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri to suspend the proceedings for 10 minutes. On resumption, the proceedings were adjourned till Thursday. The House was to complete the debate on the economic condition but now it would continue on Thursday.
Earlier, taking the floor the Minister for Power Omar Ayub said that instead of giving concrete proposals, the members from the opposition desks have spoken against facts. Tracing back the history of the PPP government, he said it was the government in the 1970s when people were made to stand in queues to purchase ghee, flour, and sugar on presentation of ration card. He blamed the previous governments for ongoing inflation saying during the PPP tenure starting 2008, 120 percent more currency notes were printed while the PML-N government printed 101 percent more currency notes. He also questioned as to why the Miftah Ismail did not continue the fiscal policies of Ishaq Dar and admitted to inflation in the country while there was a zero growth rate during the PML-N tenure.
The federal minister recalled it was rental power projects of the PPP government which generated electricity at an exorbitant rate of Rs55 per unit, while a former prime minister of the PML-N was facing corruption cases for expensive LNG power plants by doing away with renewable energy. “They did away with renewable energy projects for vested financial interests,” he charged. Ayub said the circular debt surged to Rs400 billion during the PML-N tenure. “The electricity from LNG costs Rs17.5 while per-unit cost from renewable energy was Rs6.50,” he said.