Budget debate in Sindh Assembly marred by unruly behaviour

KARACHI: The sixth consecutive general discussion in the Sindh Assembly on the new provincial budget on Saturday was marred by trading of allegations between the treasury and the opposition lawmakers, as the legislature witnessed pandemonium and unruly behaviour.

The most unpleasant scene of the day featured Nusrat Sehar Abbasi, an opposition legislator belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), who for some time during the sitting was seen showing her shoe to PA Deputy Speaker Syeda Shehla Raza, who chaired the meeting.

The vocal opposition lawmaker even left her chair at the back benches of the provincial assembly and continued to display her shoe in front of the speaker’s rostrum.

On one occasion there was a quite evident possibility of a clash between her and other female legislators in the House belonging to the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) who rushed towards her in order to “teach her a lesson”.

But it was the timely intervention by Leader of the Opposition Khawaja Izharul Hassan belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and MPA Samar Ali Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who saved the situation from turning worse.

What provoked the PML-F lawmaker to show her shoe to the chair were the unfavourable remarks by Sindh Population Welfare Minister Mir Mumtaz Hussain Khan Jakhrani against Nusrat and another opposition MPA.

The population welfare minister during his speech in the House said that two female legislators of the opposition are in the habit of creating a ruckus in the assembly, but they never publicly disclose the benefits they have received from the ruling PPP. Jakhrani referred to Nusrat and Sorath Thebo belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

The population welfare minister claimed that the two opposition lawmakers had lately obtained 2,000 sacks of Bardana (gunny bags for storing wheat under the government’s procurement scheme) from an MPA of the ruling PPP despite the fact that the two legislators have no agricultural land for cultivation.

He said the two opposition lawmakers should inform the House for whose benefit they have obtained the Bardana sacks. “The two [legislators] are in the habit of hurling accusations at the PPP despite getting benefits from it.” These remarks provoked the opposition lawmaker of the PML-F as she kept on shouting in the House while hurling accusations at the treasury benches despite the fact that her microphone was switched off. On one occasion, the deputy speaker ordered the sergeant-at-arms to expel the unruly lawmaker from the House, but the opposition MPA remained present in the assembly. The deputy speaker also ordered to debar the unruly legislator from one sitting of the House. The opposition leader and deputy speaker also had a heated debate as the former intervened to calm down the female lawmaker who kept on with her disruptive protest in the House. General debate.

Earlier, taking part in the general discussion in the House on the new Sindh government budget for the year 2018-19, parliamentary party leader of the opposition MQM-P Syed Sardar Ahmed suggested that the Board of Revenue be tasked with the collection of agricultural income tax in the province.