Gilani resigns as Leader of Opposition in Senate

ISLAMABAD: Under pressure from the Opposition parties for allegedly supporting the government over the SBP Amendment Bill, which he negates, PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani resigned as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

Yousuf Raza Gilani, while lashing out at the government, said that he had submitted his resignation to his party leadership, adding that he does not want to be the Leader of the Opposition anymore.

Criticising the Senate chairman and speaker, Gilani said that they are the custodians of the house but not of the government, adding that their roles should be impartial.

“It seems that the Senate chairman was facilitating the government," he said, adding that for the first time in the country’s history, the Senate chairman had to cast his vote to get a bill passed.

Talking about his absence from the crucial Senate session, Gillani said his staff received the agenda of the January 28 Senate session at 11:30pm on January 27, while it was delivered at his house at 1 am.

"It was not appropriate to add the bill to the agenda late night."

"This was such an important agenda; we should have been given more time to mull over it. The house is taken into confidence over such important matters related to the national interest, but unfortunately, this wasn't the case," he said.

The PPP Senator said the bill was not sent to the relevant standing committee, as he highlighted that bills are debated over in the committees — and as a result, lawmakers form consensus over a matter.

"The chairman suspended the Senate session for [a mere 30 minutes]. You facilitated the government, not the Opposition," Gillani told Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani.